Bill Snyder

Bill Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He served as head coach at the school from 1989 to 2005, and then was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making him one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school.

Snyder has won several conference and national coach of the year awards. The football stadium at Kansas State University, Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium, is named in honor of him and his family.

Coaching career
Snyder had his first collegiate coaching experience in 1966, serving as a graduate assistant coach for the USC Trojans. He next worked as a head coach for several years in the California high school ranks. From 1976 to 1978, Snyder worked as an assistant coach at North Texas State, under Hall of Fame coach Hayden Fry. Snyder and Fry moved together to the University of Iowa in 1979, with Snyder serving as Fry's offensive coordinator for the next ten years. Snyder was hired as the 32nd head coach of the Kansas State University Wildcats following the 1988 season.

Kansas State University: first tenure, 1989–2005
When Snyder was hired at K-State for the first time on November 24, 1988, he took over a program that had a cumulative record of 299–510 (.360) in 93 years of play, which was easily the most losses of any team in Division I-A at the time. The school had been to only one bowl game (the 1982 Independence Bowl), had not won a conference title since 1934 and had enjoyed four winning seasons in the previous 44 years (including two in the previous 34 years). The program had also not won a game since October 1986, going 0-26-1 in that time.

Prior to Snyder's first season in 1989, Sports Illustrated published an article about Kansas State football entitled "Futility U," which labeled the school "America's most hapless team." Snyder won only one game in his first season, beating the recently-renamed North Texas, but it was a significant win because it was K-State's first win in three seasons. The game was especially thrilling, with a touchdown pass coming on the last play of the game. In Snyder's second season, in 1990, the Wildcats improved to 5–6. The five wins posted by the team had been matched only twice in the prior 17 years at the school, in 1973 (5–6) and 1982 (6–5).

The 1991 season saw another breakthrough, when the Wildcats finished with a winning record of 7–4 and narrowly missed a bowl bid. It was only the second winning season at Kansas State since 1970, and the team's 4–3 conference record was only the third winning conference mark since 1934. Two years later, Snyder led the Wildcats to the school's second bowl game – the 1993 Copper Bowl – and their first bowl win ever. The season also marked the second 9-win season in school history and the team's first ranking in the final top 20 poll. The 1993 bowl game was the first of 11 consecutive bowl games, as Kansas State went to bowl games every season from 1993 to 2003 – one of just seven schools to do so. K-State won six of those bowl games.

During the 1998 season, Kansas State posted an undefeated 11–0 regular season and earned its first ever number 1 ranking in the national polls, just ten years after being named the worst program in the country by Sports Illustrated, before finishing 11–2. In the 2003 season the team won the Big 12 championship – the school's second major conference title ever. They beat #1 ranked Oklahoma in the 2003 Big 12 Championship Game, by a score of 35–7. Leading up to the game, many college football analysts called Oklahoma one of the best teams ever. With an 11–4 record in 2003, Kansas State also became the only team in the country to win 11 games in six of the previous seven years, and just the second program in the history of college football to win 11 games six times in a seven-year stretch.

Following disappointing seasons 2004 and 2005, when the Wildcats went 4–7 and 5–6, respectively, Snyder retired from Kansas State on November 15, 2005, with an overall record of 136–68–1(.660). The day after Snyder announced his retirement, K-State renamed its football stadium Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium in his and his family's honor. The school had originally wanted to rename it simply Bill Snyder Stadium, but when Snyder got word of the plans, he insisted that they name it after his family--"the people I care about most." Ron Prince, formerly an assistant coach and offensive coordinator at the University of Virginia, was named Bill Snyder's replacement on December 5, 2005.

Snyder's first tenure at Kansas State is still considered one of the most successful rebuilding projects in collegiate history. In recognition of his rebuilding work, Hall of Fame football coach Barry Switzer once stated, "He's not the coach of the year, he's not the coach of the decade, he's the coach of the century."

Kansas State University: second tenure, 2009–present
After being out of coaching for three years, on November 24, 2008, Bill Snyder was named to a second term as head football coach at Kansas State University, beginning in the 2009 season. He is one of the only coaches to ever coach in a stadium named after him, due to the fact that it was renamed after him upon his original retirement in 2005.

In the first season of Snyder's second tenure, the team posted a 6–6 record overall and finished tied for second in the Big 12 North division with a 4–4 conference mark.

In his second season in 2010, the team had a 7–6 record and played in the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York City.

During the 2011 season on September 3, Bill Snyder earned his 150th win with a season opening victory over Eastern Kentucky. During the same season, Snyder became the first FBS coach to have a son (Sean) as an assistant and a grandson (Tate) playing for him at the same time. By season's end, Coach Snyder again showed results when the team went 10–2 in the regular season, finishing second in the Big 12, and earned a berth in the Cotton Bowl where the team lost to the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Cotton Bowl was K-State's first "major" bowl since the 2004 Fiesta Bowl. Following the season Snyder was named Woody Hayes Coach of the Year.

In the 2012 season, Snyder led the team to its first Big 12 Conference championship since 2003. By winning the head-to-head game with Oklahoma K-State earned the conference champion's berth in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl, even though they were officially co-champions.

Snyder has held the head coaching position at Kansas State longer than any other coach, and his 170 career wins are more than his 11 predecessors at K-State won from 1935 to 1988 combined. He is far and away the winningest coach in Kansas State history (no other coach has crossed the 40-win mark). During his tenure, K-State has produced 33 AP All-Americans, 42 NFL Draft picks, and 46 first-team academic All-Americans.

On January 31, 2013, it was announced that Snyder's contract was extended through the 2017 season.

Former assistants that became head coaches
Eight of Snyder's assistants have also gone on to become head coaches at other Division I schools, including: Phil Bennett (SMU), Bret Bielema (Arkansas), Jim Leavitt (South Florida), Mark Mangino (Kansas), Dana Dimel (Wyoming), Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), Mike Stoops (Arizona), Carl Pelini (Florida Atlantic).

Awards
In 1998 Snyder was recognized as the National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press and the Walter Camp Football Foundation, and was awarded the Bear Bryant Award and the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award. In 2011 Snyder was named the Woody Hayes Coach of the Year and the Sporting News National Coach of the Year. In 2012 Snyder won the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award for the second time in his career. Additionally, ESPN selected Snyder as its national coach of the year in 1991, and CNN selected him as its national coach of the year in 1995. He was also a finalist for the Bear Bryant Award in 1993, 1995, 2011 and 2012; a finalist for the Sporting News National Coach of the Year Award in 1995 and 1998; a finalist for the AFCA National Coach of the Year Award in 1993 and 1998; and a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award in 1993, 1995, 1998, 2011 and 2012.

In the conference, coach Snyder was selected Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year by the Associated Press three times (1990, 1991 and 1993), joining Bob Devaney as the only two men in Big Eight history to be named Coach of the Year three times in a four-year period. Snyder was also named Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year four times: in 1998 (AP, coaches), 2002 (coaches), 2011 (AP, coaches) and 2012 (AP, coaches).

In 2003, Snyder was named to the Board of Trustees of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). In 2006, Snyder was enshrined in the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Booster infraction
On February 18, 1999, Kansas State self-reported to the NCAA's Committee on Infractions that Kansas State boosters had provided a football player with money for his personal use, in violation of NCAA regulations. The committee expressly found no fault whatsoever on the part of Snyder or the institution itself, and said the institution's response to the reported violation was "exemplary." The university voluntarily disassociated itself from seven athletic boosters, and the NCAA extended an existing probation on the school for one year.

Player misconduct at 2004 Fiesta Bowl
In the early morning hours of New Year's Day, 2004, police were called to the Kansas State team hotel in Paradise Valley, Arizona, by a woman who accused quarterback Ell Roberson of sexually assaulting her. Roberson and the rest of the Kansas State team were in town to play Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Police did not arrest Roberson, and later determined that no crime had been committed and no charges should be filed, but an investigation by the Kansas State athletic department concluded that Roberson and several other players had violated unspecified team rules. As a result, Snyder stripped Roberson of his scholarship, denied the players their Fiesta Bowl rings and required them to perform community service. Snyder also issued an open letter of apology to the people of Kansas and supporters of Kansas State's football program for the conduct of his players in the days leading up to the bowl game.

Compensation
On June 19, 2009, the Kansas Board of Regents released the results of an audit that was performed by Grant Thornton LLP as an exit analysis for outgoing Kansas State president Jon Wefald. Included among the findings in the audit was that the university paid thousands of dollars to a corporation owned by Bill Snyder rather than to Snyder personally. Additionally, the university made some of its payments to Snyder from a contingency fund rather than the athletic department's general operating fund. The audit does not state that any of the payments were illegal, and Snyder has denied that any of the payments he received from the university, either directly or through his corporation, were improper. The new university president and athletic director later released a joint letter that states, in part, "In our opinion, there are no grounds to even begin to insinuate that Coach Snyder has ever benefited improperly from his relationship with K-State."

Personal life
In addition to his work as the football coach, Snyder was active in raising funds for the library at Kansas State University. Snyder also currently serves as chairman of the Leadership Studies Building Campaign, honorary chairman of the K-State Changing Lives Campaign, and is past president of the Friends of the Libraries organization at K-State. In the window of retirement, Coach Snyder invested his time in a Kansas State Department of Education endeavor called Kansas Mentors, becoming the chair.

Snyder and his wife Sharon have five children: Sean, Ross, Shannon, Meredith, and Whitney.

Record against Big 12 Conference opponents

 * As of the end of the 2012 regular season.
 * This chart reflects the results of conference championship games not included in Snyder's year-by-year conference record above.

Record against former conference opponents

 * As of the end of the 2012 season.
 * This chart reflects the results of conference championship games not included in Snyder's year-by-year conference record above.

Player accomplishments
During the Snyder era, Kansas State players won the following national awards:
 * Lou Groza Award (Nation's Outstanding kicker) – Martín Gramática, 1997
 * Davey O'Brien Award (Nation's top quarterback) – Michael Bishop, 1998
 * Jim Thorpe Award (Nation's outstanding defensive back) – Terence Newman, 2002
 * Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (Nation's outstanding senior quarterback) – Collin Klein, 2012

Heisman Trophy:
 * Michael Bishop, finished second in the 1998 Heisman Trophy voting.
 * Darren Sproles finished fifth in the 2003 Heisman Trophy voting.
 * Collin Klein finished third in the 2012 Heisman Trophy voting

All Americans: During the Snyder era, 30 different players have received All American Honors, including 9 consensus All Americans. †-2nd team All American
 * Barrett Brooks (OL) 1995†
 * Nick Leckey (OL) 2002–2003
 * Todd Weiner (OL) 1997†
 * Chad May (QB) 1994
 * Michael Bishop (QB) 1998
 * Darren Sproles (RB) 2003
 * Quincy Morgan (WR) 2000
 * Chris Canty (DB) 1995–1996
 * Lamar Chapman (DB) 1999†
 * Jarrod Cooper (DB) 1998†
 * Terence Newman (DB) 2002
 * Thomas Randolph (DB) 1993
 * Tim Colston (DL) 1995
 * Mario Fatafehi (DL) 2000
 * Percell Gaskins (LB) 1995†
 * Jeff Kelly (LB) 1998
 * Mark Simoneau (LB) 1998†-1999
 * Josh Buhl (LB) 2003
 * David Allen (PR) 1998–1999
 * Andre Coleman (KR) 1993†
 * Martín Gramática (PK) 1997–1998
 * Aaron Lockett (WR/KR/PR) 2000
 * Jamie Rheem (PK) 2000
 * Sean Snyder (P) 1992
 * Collin Klein (QB) 2012†
 * Arthur Brown (LB) 2012†