Snyder retires

Snyder first took over the Wildcat program in 1989, turning what at the time was the worst program in college football to one of the best in just a matter of a few short years.

In 1991 K-State won seven games, and by 1993 the Wildcats won nine games and earned a bowl bid - a spot in the Copper bowl - where they hammered Wyoming to cap off what to many K-State fans was a dream season.

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It was only the first of many, however, as the Wildcats would go to bowls every year from 1993 through 2003 - including two trips to the Cotton Bowl as well as two trips to the Fiesta Bowl. The Wildcats won 10 games in 1995, then starting in 1997 won 11 games six out of seven seasons. The 1998 campaign saw the Wildcats reach No. 1 in the national rankings and quarterback Michael Bishop finish as the Heisman Trophy runner-up.

Snyder won his first conference championship in 2003, when his Wildcats shocked No. 1 Oklahoma 35-7 in the Big 12 Championship Game behind memorable performances from Darren Sproles and Ell Roberson.

The conference title was followed up by back-to-back losing seasons in 2004 and 2005, however, after K-State has previously finished with winning regular-season records 11 years in a row. Snyder retired at the end of the 2005 season, his last game a home win over Missouri.

Ron Prince replaced Snyder but lasted only three years, and Snyder returned to the Wildcat sideline to "calm the waters" in 2008.

He did more than that, leading the Wildcats to 10 wins and a Cotton Bowl berth in 2011 and then an 11-win season, a No. 1 BCS ranking heading into the final two weeks of the regular season and another Big 12 Conference Championship in 2012. Quarterback Collin Klein also finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting that season.

The Wildcats had continued to be successful after the 2012 campaign, earning bowl berths each season since, and K-State rallied to a strong finished in what turned out to be Snyder's second-to-last season in 2017.

The Wildcats won five of their last six games that year, including four wins over bowl teams and a win on the road against then No. 10 Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

Stay tuned to KSO for premium coverage on Snyder's decision, a look back at his career, a look forward to the future and full coverage on the search to replace a man recognized as one of the best coaches in college football history.

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OFFICIAL RELEASE FROM KANSAS STATE

Bill Snyder, architect of the greatest turnaround in the history of college football and arguably one of the best college football coaches of all time, announced his retirement today as the head football coach at Kansas State.

The winningest coach in the history of K-State football with a 215-117-1 record, Snyder will transition to a special ambassador role for the University as stated in his current employment agreement.

He will leave as the 20th winningest coach in FBS history and currently ranks second among active FBS coaches in wins. Under Snyder, K-State is the third-winningest program in the Big 12 with 104 total league wins since the league was formed in 1996.

In all, Snyder led K-State to 19 of the school’s 21 all-time bowl appearances, won two conference titles, achieved two No. 1 national rankings, coached players who received a total of 214 All-America honors, 13 Academic All-Americans, was a five-time national coach of the year and seven-time conference coach of the year and also became just the fourth active coach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (2015).

“Coach Snyder has had an immeasurable impact on our football program, Kansas State University, the Manhattan community and the entire state of Kansas, and it has been an honor and a privilege to get to know and work with him the past two years,” said Athletics Director Gene Taylor. “He and his family have touched the lives of so many people, from student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans, and he is truly one of the greatest coaches and leaders in college football history. His impact on college football is unmatched and legacy is one that will last a lifetime.”

Snyder’s impact at K-State reached far beyond the football field. In addition to rekindling an overwhelming sense of pride in K-State alumni and supporters from coast to coast, the winning culture he ushered in helped spark a University and community-wide revitalization as K-State’s enrollment blossomed from 18,120 when he was hired to a record of more than 24,000.

“This university, this community and this state are deeply indebted to Coach Bill Snyder. Since arriving on campus in 1989, coach has delivered on all his promises — and more. He brought Kansas State University football to the national stage and built a program on the bedrock of integrity, honor and his famed 16 goals for success,” said Richard Myers, Kansas State University president. “He came here, and stayed here, because of the people. He made us a family — a proud purple family who travel in record numbers to watch him lead the Wildcats to victories, bowls and rankings never achieved before. Coach Snyder has always taken the time and care to turn his players into college graduates, community leaders, successful businessmen and leaders of strong families. Bill Snyder is a legend and his legacy is one that K-Staters for generations will value and cherish,” Myers said.

Following a three-year retirement from 2006-2008, Snyder returned to the sidelines in 2009 with hopes of revitalizing a program that he once built, piece by piece, into a national force. And, after nine seasons back in charge, he did just that – and then some. Over the past 10 years under Snyder, K-State has totaled 79 victories, advanced to eight bowl games, won a conference championship in 2012 and finished third or better in the ultra-competitive Big 12 Conference in four of the last seven seasons.

Act Two of his renowned career started in 2009 when the Wildcats played for a berth in the Big 12 Championship on the last week of the season and went 6-6 prior to a 7-5 campaign in 2010 and a berth in the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl. K-State’s climb back into the nation picture continued in 2011 as the Cats went 10-3, finished No. 8 in the BCS standings and earned their first Cotton Bowl invitation in 10 years The bar was raised again in 2012 as Snyder led the Cats to their third conference championship in school history and first since 2003. Kansas State, which won its first 10 games of the season and finished the regular season at 11-1 with an 8-1 mark in Big 12 play, tied the school record for overall wins and conference victories while also ascending to No. 1 in the BCS rankings following its 10-0 start.

Snyder went on to win the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award as well as top Big 12 coach honors for the second straight season following the Cats’ memorable 2012 season that culminated with a berth in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and quarterback Collin Klein being named a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.

From 2013-2018, K-State won an average of almost eight games a year and included a 2014 season that saw the Cats ranked once again in the Top 10 and compete for a Big 12 Championship in the final week of the season.

When Snyder was named the Wildcats’ head football coach in 1988, he inherited a team that had just suffered through its second-consecutive winless season and was on a current 0-26-1 stretch. It was a program that had been through 14 different head coaches and won just 24 percent of its games – going 137-455-18 – between Lynn “Pappy” Waldorf’s 1934 Big Six championship team and his hiring.

But it did not take long for Snyder to change the entire culture of the program. In just his third year, he guided the 1991 Wildcats to a 7-4 record to give K-State just its second winning season since 1970. For his efforts, Snyder was named ESPN’s National Coach of the Year.

Just two seasons later, Snyder would guide Kansas State to a 9-2-1 record and a berth in the 1993 Copper Bowl, marking just the second bowl appearance ever by the Wildcats.

The trip to Tucson was the first of 11-straight postseason appearances for Snyder’s Wildcats, who quickly became a fixture on the Big 8/12 bowl circuit.

Along the way, Kansas State would become just the second team in the history of college football to win 11 games in six of seven seasons from 1997 and 2003.

The 11-win campaign in 2003 brought more firsts for Kansas State as Snyder guided the Wildcats to an unforgettable upset of No. 1 Oklahoma in the 2003 Big 12 Championship game that not only gave the Wildcats their first Big 12 title and BCS bowl berth, but captivated the imagination of the nation’s college football fans.

In his first tenure, Snyder guided Kansas State to 11 winning seasons, four Big 12 North Division titles and three Big 12 Championship games as the Wildcats recorded the eighth-most wins in Division I-A from 1993-2004.

In addition to the team accomplishments, Snyder’s players were also some of the most decorated in the country. In his first 16 years, he produced three national award winners, 45 All-America selections and 68 first team all-conference honorees.

The rebuilding effort and subsequent success engineered at Kansas State by Snyder clearly stands as one of the most amazing in all of college football.

A national search is underway to identify K-State’s next football coach. The department will utilize Ventura Partners to assist with the search.

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