Longtime Kansas State coach Snyder retires

[December 03, 2018]  State Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder talks to officials during their game with the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones beat the Wildcats 42 to 38. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Longtime Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder announced his retirement on Sunday.

Snyder, 79, is credited for taking a program deep in the doldrums and turning it into a perennial contender for a bowl berth.

The announcement was made to the players Sunday afternoon. Kansas State's athletic director issued a statement after the team meeting.

"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," AD Gene Taylor said. "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."

The Wildcats had a down season in 2018, finishing 5-7 and failing to qualify for a bowl game for the first time this decade. His teams compiled a 215-117-1 record in Snyder's two stints at Kansas State.

He was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

When Snyder took the reins at Kansas State in 1989, the program had lost 27 games in a row.

Kansas State Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder talks to officials during their game with the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones beat the Wildcats 42 to 38. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

"There is only one school in the nation that has lost 500 games," Snyder told Sports Illustrated that year. "This is it, and I get to coach it."

In his first four seasons with the Wildcats, they went 18-26. But his fifth season brought a 9-2-1 record and the first of 11 straight bowl games.

In 1998, a double-overtime loss in the Big 12 championship game knocked the Wildcats out of a chance to play for the BCS national championship.

He retired in 2005 but returned to coach the team before the 2009 season.

Before the 2018 season he signed a five-year contract that would have taken him through the 2022 season.

Snyder's 215 career victories place him No. 15 on the all-time list of college football coaches.

--Field Level Media

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