Lance Leipold's final game as head coach at UW-Whitewater turned out to be a memorable capper to a fine career. Photos by Steve Frommell and Larry Radloff, d3photography.com

By Ryan Tipps
D3sports.com

SALEM -- The Warhawks sent their coach out on top.

Coach Lance Leipold, who has been chosen to lead the University of Buffalo’s Division I-FBS football program, earned his sixth Stagg Bowl victory and will start his new job having won as many national championships as he’s lost games in his Division III head coaching career.

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As we’ve seen so many times in the past decade, UW-Whitewater and Mount Union delivered an epic battle led by All-Americans and highlighted by several changes in momentum. It was clear that Leipold and his staff adjusted their strategies to compensate for Mount Union’s shifts to ultimately leave Salem bearing the Walnut and Bronze.

“I never knew if I could leave this place in better hands than I found it,” Leipold said of his impending departure. “I don’t know if it is, but I think the next person will have a good foundation to work with.”

Whitewater started unlike any team has been able to against Mount Union this year, building a 13-0 lead and controlling virtually all aspects of the game. Whitewater’s defense picked off Mount Union quarterback Kevin Burke four times Friday night.

“I feel like I’m just proud of our team. I’m proud of our program,” said defensive coordinator Brian Borland, who along with offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is leaving Whitewater for Buffalo. “I feel like I had the best 21 years of my life. I’m so excited to go out this way. It’s just a storybook ending, and I’m just really happy.”

For Leipold, he’s up front about how emotional things have been for him.

“I’ve cried often. I’ve cried about the situation. I’ve cried about my family. I’ve cried about my father,” Leipold said. “And I’ll cry more as I continue to clean out my office.”

Back in 2007, Leipold became the heir to the dynasty that Bob Berezowitz put in motion. Whitewater had been to the Stagg Bowl in 2005 and 2006, but lost to Mount Union in both of them.

Leipold elevated the team, and helped to ensure a legacy that stands unique in college football.

“I didn’t know exactly what I had stepped into,” he said, “and I just wanted to, somehow, someway, get ourselves back” to the Stagg Bowl as the new coach at his alma mater. “Once we got a taste of it and had the confidence that we could do it, then we had something to build on.”

Leipold reached the 100-win mark more quickly than any other coach in collegiate football history. He had help from his coordinator and other staff, not to mention the skilled players who have come through the school. Leipold said he never expected this kind of run when he signed on as coach.

When asked what he hoped his legacy would be, he said, “I’d like people to say that we played the game the right way. We played with great effort and we were fundamentally sound and that we played consistently at a high level.”

They did all of that and more.

“It’s been awesome,” Borland said of the national championships and of working with Leipold. “I love him. I really respect him. He’s done a really great job. I’m just glad to be a part of it quite honestly. … I don’t know if anybody could ever predict that stuff.”

Whitewater could have lost three weeks ago and outsiders would have chalked it up to the distraction of losing the head coach and others to Buffalo. But Leipold said he never wanted that kind of thing to happen. Once the team realized that the staff wasn’t leaving until business was finished, the team was able to move past the noise and again emerge on top.

Leipold does have one regret, however, perhaps something that wouldn’t have been a factor in 2007 when Twitter was in its infancy and smartphone connectivity hadn’t yet penetrated culture the way it does today.

When Leipold was chosen for the Buffalo job, social media made sure the world knew. It wasn’t how Leipold hoped the news would come out.

“That is something I’ll always regret,” he said. “One of the things I’ve always talked about was being where you’re supposed to be and not being a distraction. And I became a distraction, and it almost cost this football team this experience.”

He’s happy his staff is coming with him – it’ll give him comfort and stability having people he trusts around him.

“The good Lord leads you in different directions and into different challenges, and I’m confident and excited for the next chapter,” he said.