Bill Snyder

For other people named Bill Snyder, see William Snyder (disambiguation).

Bill Snyder
Snyder in July 2009
Sport(s)	Football
Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Kansas State
Record	158–82–1
Biographical details
Born	October 7, 1939 (1939-10-07) (age 72)
Place of birth	Saint Joseph, Missouri
Playing career
1958 1959–1962	Missouri William Jewell
Position(s)	Quarterback, defensive back
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1962 1964–1965 1966 1967–1968 1969–1973 1974–1975 1976–1978 1979–1988 1989–2005 2009–present	Gallatin HS (MO) (assistant) Indio HS (CA) (assistant) USC (GA) Indio HS (CA) Santa Ana Foothill HS (CA) Austin (OC) North Texas (assistant) Iowa (OC) Kansas State Kansas State
Head coaching record
Overall	158–82–1
Bowls	6–6
Statistics
College Football Data Warehouse
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 Big 12 (2003) 4 Big 12 North Division (1998–2000, 2003)
Awards
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (1998) Walter Camp Coach of the Year (1998) 3x Big Eight Conference COY (1990–1991, 1993) 2x Big 12 Coach of the Year (1998, 2002)

Bill Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is the head football coach at Kansas State University. He was rehired to the position on November 24, 2008, making Snyder one of the rare college football head coaches to have non-consecutive tenure at the same school.^[1] Snyder previously served as head coach at the school from 1989 to 2005. The football stadium at Kansas State University, Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium, is named in honor of him and his family.

Early years

Bill Snyder grew up without a father and was raised by his mother. He left for college in the fall of 1958 to the University of Missouri. He played football and was the first-string quarterback on the freshman team under coach Al Onofrio. He left after one semester in Columbia, returning home to St. Joseph. He would go to a community college for one year before accepting a partial scholarship at William Jewell College, where he would graduate in three years. Snyder played defensive back at William Jewell.^[2]

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 in 1989, he took over a program that had a cumulative record of 299-510 in 93 years of play—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 gone winless in 27 consecutive games.

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."^[3] Snyder won only one game in his first season, beating North Texas State, but it was a significant win because it was the first for the team in three seasons. 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. In the 2003 season the team won the Big 12 championship – the school's second major conference title 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.

Snyder retired from Kansas State on November 15, 2005, with an overall record of 136–68–1. The day after Snyder announced his retirement, K-State renamed its football stadium Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium in his 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."^[4] 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."^[5]

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.^[6] 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 the first season of Snyder's second tenure, the team posted a 6-6 record overall and finished second in the Big 12 North with a 4-4 conference mark. In his second season, the team had a 7-6 record and played in the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl in New York City. On September 3, 2011 Bill Snyder won his 150th game against Eastern Kentucky. During the 2011 season Snyder became the first FBS coach to have a son as a assistant and a grandson playing for him at the same time.^{[citation needed]}

Snyder has held the head coaching position at Kansas State longer than any other coach, and his 142 wins as of the start of the 2010 season are more than his 11 predecessors 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.

A number of Snyder's assistants have also gone on to become head coaches at other Division I schools, including: Phil Bennett (SMU), Bret Bielema (Wisconsin), Jim Leavitt (South Florida), Mark Mangino (Kansas), Dana Dimel (Wyoming), Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) and Mike Stoops (Arizona).

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. He was also a finalist for the Bear Bryant Award in 1993 and 1995, a finalist for the Football News National Coach of the Year Award in 1995 and 1998, and a finalist for the Kodak/AFCA National Coach of the Year Award in 1993 and 1998. Of somewhat lesser note, 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.

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 twice, in 1998 (Associated Press, coaches) and 2002 (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.

Snyder was named a finalist for several coach of the year awards after starting the Wildcats started their 2011 season of 7-1 when most of the media picked the Wildcats to finish the season in 8th place in the Big 12.

Controversy

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.^[7]

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.^[8] 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,^[9] but an investigation by the Kansas State athletic department concluded that Roberson and several other players had violated unspecified team rules.^[10] 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.^[11]

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.^[12] Additionally, the university made some of its payments to Snyder from a contingency fund rather than the athletic department's general operating fund.^[12] 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.^[13] 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." ^[14]

Personal life

Snyder is a 1962 graduate of William Jewell College, where he played defensive back (3 letters) from 1959 to 1962 for Norris Patterson. Snyder also received an M.A. at Eastern New Mexico University in 1965.

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.

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

Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	Coaches#	AP°
Kansas State Wildcats (Big Eight Conference) (1989–1995)
1989	Kansas State	1–10	0–7	8th
1990	Kansas State	5–6	2–5	6th
1991	Kansas State	7–4	4–3	4th
1992	Kansas State	5–6	2–5	T–6th
1993	Kansas State	9–2–1	4–2–1	3rd	W Copper	18	20
1994	Kansas State	9–3	5–2	3rd	L Aloha	16	19
1995	Kansas State	10–2	5–2	T–2nd	W Holiday	6	7
Kansas State Wildcats (Big 12 Conference) (1996–2005)
1996	Kansas State	9–3	6–2	3rd (North)	L Cotton	17	17
1997	Kansas State	11–1	7–1	2nd (North)	W Fiesta	7	8
1998	Kansas State	11–2	8–0	1st (North)	L Alamo	9	10
1999	Kansas State	11–1	7–1	T–1st (North)	W Holiday	6	6
2000	Kansas State	11–3	6–2	T–1st (North)	W Cotton	8	9
2001	Kansas State	6–6	3–5	4th (North)	L Insight.com
2002	Kansas State	11–2	6–2	2nd (North)	W Holiday	6	7
2003	Kansas State	11–4	6–2	1st (North)	L Fiesta †	13	14
2004	Kansas State	4–7	2–6	5th (North)
2005	Kansas State	5–6	2–6	6th (North)
Kansas State Wildcats (Big 12 Conference) (2009–present)
2009	Kansas State	6–6	4–4	T–2nd (North)
2010	Kansas State	7–6	3–5	T–3rd (North)	L Pinstripe
2011	Kansas State	9–2	6–2			17	16
Kansas State:		158–82–1	88–64–1
Total:		158–82–1
National Championship         Conference Title         Conference Division Title
†Indicates BCS bowl game. #Rankings from final Coaches' Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll.

Record against Big 12 Conference opponents

• As of November 21, 2011.^[15]
• This chart reflects the results of three conference championship games not included in Snyder's year-by-year conference record above.

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Win Pct.
Baylor Bears	5	1	0	.833
Colorado Buffaloes†	6	12	1	.342
Iowa State Cyclones	15	4	0	.789
Kansas Jayhawks	16	4	0	.800
Missouri Tigers	15	5	0	.750
Nebraska Cornhuskers†	5	14	0	.263
Oklahoma Sooners	6	11	0	.352
Oklahoma State Cowboys	9	4	0	.692
Texas Longhorns	4	2	0	.667
Texas A&M Aggies	4	5	0	.444
Texas Tech Red Raiders	4	4	0	.500
Total	89	66	1	.574
vs. North	57	39	1	.587
vs. South	32	27	0	.542

† - records against Colorado and Nebraska as conference opponents, through the 2010 season.

Player accomplishments

During the Snyder era, Kansas State players won the following national awards:

• Lou Groza Award (Outstanding kicker) - Martín Gramática, 1997
• Davey O'Brien Award (Nation's top quarterback) - Michael Bishop, 1998
• Jim Thorpe Award (Outstanding defensive back) - Terence Newman, 2002

Heisman Trophy:

• Michael Bishop, finished second in the 1998 Heisman Trophy voting.
• Darren Sproles finished fifth in the 2003 Heisman Trophy voting.

All Americans: During the Snyder era 26 different players have received All American Honors, including 9 consensus All Americans.

• Barret Brooks (OL) 1995†
• Nick Leckey (OL) 2002-2003
• Todd Weiner (OL) 1997†
• Chad May (QB) 1994
• Michael Bishop (QB) 1998
• Darren Sproles (HB) 2003
• Quincy Morgan (WR) 2000
• Chris Chanty (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†
• Martin Gramatica (PK) 1997-1998
• Aaron Lockett (WR/KR/PR) 2000
• Jamie Rheem (PK) 2000
• Sean Snyder (P) 1992

†-2ed team All American

References

1. ^ Snyder hiring
2. ^ Snyder's early years
3. ^ Looney, Douglas (September 4, 1989). "Futility U". Sports Illustrated. http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1068750/index.htm 
4. ^ Whiteside, Kelly (November 18, 2005), "Snyder is retiring, but K-State stadium will be in the family", USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2005-11-18-whiteside_x.htm, retrieved April 26, 2010 
5. ^ "They Said It Couldn't Be Done". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2604585. Retrieved 2008-02-25. 
6. ^ Snyder re-named head coach
7. ^ NCAA Infractions Report
8. ^ "SI.com". CNN. January 1, 2004. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/football/ncaa/specials/bowls/2003/01/01/roberson.suspect/. Retrieved April 26, 2010. 
9. ^ "Prosecutors won't press charges against Roberson". USA Today. January 8, 2004. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/big12/2004-01-09-roberson-cleared_x.htm. Retrieved April 26, 2010. 
10. ^ "Ell Roberson says 'my decision on New Year's Eve caused my team to". The Topeka Capital-Journal. 2004. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20040110/ai_n11807919/. 
11. ^ http://www.kstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=400&ATCLID=31047
12. ^ ^{a b} http://www.themercury.com/dyn-file/12c70d829d314612aac8a22fb68cdc3f/KSU%20audit.pdf
13. ^ http://www.themercury.com/News/article.aspx?articleId=ce6b664282274faaa69b1de1bb976a68
14. ^ http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/1293184.html Snyder's Return Gives K-State Fans Hope of Moving Forward
15. ^ http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/coaching/alltime_coach_opponents.php?coachid=2190 College football data warehouse

External links

• Kansas State profile
• Bill Snyder at the College Football Data Warehouse

Persondata
Name	Snyder, Bill
Alternative names
Short description	American college football coach
Date of birth	October 7, 1939
Place of birth	Saint Joseph, Missouri, United States
Date of death
Place of death