Survey: KU fans used these words to describe Bill Self, Jeff Long and Les Miles

Here’s the final installment of our Kansas Jayhawks fan-survey results.

We revealed the multiple-choice responses earlier this week. What follows is the feedback we received with the short-answer questions.

As a reminder, we had 1,174 initial completed surveys, though I parsed that number to 530 accepted ballots, using my best judgment to separate the true responses from those spam ones I received (mostly from Missouri supporters).

What’s left is an overview glimpse into the current thoughts of KU fans.

My favorite KU basketball player in 2019-20 was ...

I was interested to the see the results here, as Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson were both excellent last season. It turns out our sample most enjoyed Azubuike, with Dotson second and Marcus Garrett third. Christian Braun coming in fourth is a bit of a surprise, though he did show some personality on the court in his freshman season. His total also could be boosted if any Missouri fan responses snuck through, as his brother Parker plays for Mizzou’s hoops team.

My favorite KU basketball player of all time is ...

Respondents’ age was likely to influence answers to this question, and it appears for those over 40, Danny Manning is the near-consensus choice for all-time favorite. Devonté Graham’s success and backstory seemed to help elevate him to second place, while Frank Mason edged out Wilt Chamberlain, who was another likely pick of older fans. The biggest surprise, to me, is Mario Chalmers down at ninth, as I would’ve guessed he’d be a few spots higher.

My favorite KU football player in 2019 was ...

No shocker at the top. Pooka Williams is KU football’s standout, receiving three times the votes of runner-up Carter Stanley. It was also a nice showing for receiver Andrew Parchment, who was able to elevate his status following a single season of production at KU.

My favorite KU football player of all time is ...

The top two are runaways, featuring the team’s most recent star (Todd Reesing) along with the program’s most accomplished player (Gale Sayers). It’s also worth noting that only one player on this list (Williams) has been on the Jayhawks’ roster in any of the last 10 seasons.

What year will KU football next appear in a bowl game?

KU fans seem to be reasonable in their expectations, as the majority vote — 2022 — would potentially be coach Les Miles’ fourth year with the program. Keep in mind, though, that the Jayhawks also have the longest active bowl drought in college football, last appearing in a postseason game on Dec. 31, 2008.

What 3 words best describe KU AD Jeff Long?

(Word cloud above includes the top 75 responses. Size of word indicates frequency. Top responses are below.)

Some good and bad here for athletic director Jeff Long, who is finishing out his second full year with KU’s athletic department. While eight of 10 responses above have a positive connotation, the top reply — “arrogant” — can’t be viewed in that same way.

What 3 words best describe KU basketball coach Bill Self?

Coach Bill Self receiving an “A” grade from 74% of voters on Tuesday gave a glimpse into his popularity among KU fans, and this question only amplifies that sentiment. Each of the top 10 words used to describe Self can be considered praise, and the third response — an acronym for “greatest of all time” — further shows that KU fans remain smitten with Self based on his work in 17 seasons.

What 3 words best describe KU football coach Les Miles?

As mentioned Tuesday, Miles seems to have successfully extended his KU honeymoon period with a three-win campaign in 2019. Most of the words used here speak well of Miles, with many references to positive character traits that were often attributed to him during his time at LSU.

One thing that KU Athletics does well is ...

The top answer here isn’t likely to be a surprise. KU should receive high marks for the success of its basketball program, which has remained as consistent as any blue blood over the past few decades. Promoting and supporting athletes, along with fund-raising, also were frequent responses to this question. KU Athletics also might consider raises (or pats on the back) for its social media and video teams; KU fans mentioned their work often while handing out compliments.

One thing that would improve my experience with KU Athletics is ...

It would only make sense that “football” would end up — by far — on the most ballots here. Fans also were still highly critical of KU’s deal with ESPN+, which forced many of the team’s basketball games to streaming-only broadcasts. The word “basketball” was used with a variety of topics, including suggestions for scheduling, ticket availability and promotion of the women’s program. Long also just missed the top 10 above, appearing 13 times as part of fan criticisms. That compared to one negative comment for Self and none for Miles individually.

This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Survey: KU fans used these words to describe Bill Self, Jeff Long and Les Miles."

Jesse Newell

The Kansas City Star

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Jesse Newell covered the Chiefs for The Star until August 2025. He won an EPPY for best sports blog and previously was named top beat writer in his circulation by AP’s Sports Editors. His interest in sports analytics comes from his math teacher father, who handed out rulers to Trick-or-Treaters each year.