I figured it out. Now it makes total sense.
Lew Perkins did it because he's trying to show potential coaches that ku is willing to spend the money to hire a good coach. They realize that KSU got Huggin's which will seriously affect ku's dominance in basketball and now they're scared. They figure that if KSU ends up taking the lead, at least ku would get football back and have something to show for it.
Mangino will be gone at the end of this season.
Sadly, Prince and Co. will have passed ku so far that it won't matter.
KSU will dominate the state of Kansas once again.