Kansas abruplty fired athletic director Sheahon Zenger on Monday morning.
Chancellor Douglas Girod announced the move in a letter to campus staff, explaining that "progress in key areas has been elusive" in the athletic department under Zenger, who was hired in 2011.
"To achieve the level of success we need and expect, I have determined a change in leadership is necessary," Girod wrote in the letter.
Deputy athletic director Sean Lester will serve as the interim AD while Kansas searches for Zenger's replacement. Girod added that he spoke with football coach David Beaty, who has also faced scrutiny in recent months, and that Beaty "will continue recruiting hard and getting his team ready for the season.