Travel back to 1989. The Kansas State Wildcat Football team was viewed as one of the most incompetent teams in College Football Division 1 history. Sports Illustrated magazine labeled K- State, “America’s Most Hapless Team”. K-State’s football program had accumulated a 299-510 record, with very few bright spots in 93 years of existence.
The 1989 season would prove to be memorable, however, as this University’s Football program would change for many decades to come. An older man with thin rimmed glasses, a gray hair comb-over, and a frail body, walked through the K- State locker room with a brand new purple jacket and a pair of gray sweatpants. K-State players likely did not realize that they were looking at the face of their program for many years to come. After just a few seasons, K- State’s new coach, Bill Snyder, brought the team out of obscurity and into relevance. By 1998, the Wildcats were able to post an 11-0 regular season record and its first ever Number 1 national poll ranking. K-State fans still get misty-eyed when recalling the regular bowl game appearances and winning records from 1989-2005, before Snyder decided to retire.
Succeeding Snyder was a younger, more charismatic coach by the name of Ron Prince. With a 17-20 overall record during his tenure at K-State, Prince was half the age, but unfortunately, half the coach of Snyder during his three years in Manhattan.
After deafening pleas for a returning coaching stint by fans, a more-than-willing Snyder elected to end his retirement, and return to coaching, at the field that now bears his name. Championship Football is back at the “Little Apple”, with a coach widely considered as one of the few true masterminds in the game. Modern day, Bill Snyder has settled back to his natural habitat, and the Wildcats are all too relevant yet again.
Currently ranked Number 1 in the national poll, fans across the nation are witnessing a coach carrying a team to the Promised Land. K-State’s Quarterback, Colin Klein is making noise as a clear front runner to win this year’s Heisman Trophy. A converted wide receiver, Colin Klein is a stronger-armed Tim Tebow, with uncanny leadership skills, and prototypical pocket awareness.
The supporting cast surrounding Klein has also stepped up, with many former no-names making plays on each side of the ball. K- State is not necessarily known for their stellar recruiting, which makes Snyder’s coaching skills all the more impressive.
Fate is in their own hands, but all signs point to K-State playing in the BCS National Championship Game this season. With plenty of eager new recruits, and a media wave explosion, Snyder has brought hope back to Manhattan, in the blink of an eye.