Kansas State Wildcats
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| Kansas State Wildcats | |
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| University | Kansas State University |
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| Conference | Big 12 |
| NCAA | Division I |
| Athletics director | Bob Krause |
| Location | Manhattan, KS |
| Varsity teams | 16 |
| Football stadium | Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium |
| Basketball arena | Bramlage Coliseum |
| Baseball stadium | Tointon Family Stadium |
| Other arenas | Ahearn Field House |
| Mascot | Willie the Wildcat |
| Nickname | Wildcats |
| Fight song | Wildcat Victory |
| Colors | Purple and Silver
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| Homepage | www.kstatesports.com |
Kansas State University's athletic teams are called the Wildcats, and their official color is royal purple; white and silver are generally used as complementary colors. Kansas State participates in the NCAA's Division I (Division I-Bowl Subdivision in football) and in the Big 12 Conference.
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Kansas State competed in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference from 1890 to 1912; the Missouri Valley Conference from 1913 to 1928; the Big Eight Conference from 1928 to 1996 (known as the Big Six from 1928-47 and the Big Seven from 1947-57), and is now a member of the Big 12 Conference. Entering the 2007-2008 school year, Kansas State has captured 54 total conference championships through the years (not counting competition in the old Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference).
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[edit] Administration
Athletics at Kansas State University are administered by the University's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. The department is headed by the Athletic Director. Athletic Directors of note over the years at Kansas State University include:
| Z.G. Clevenger | (1916-1920); first Athletic Director, member of College Football Hall of Fame |
| Mike Ahearn | (1920-1947); considered "Father of Kansas State Athletics" |
| H.B. "Bebe" Lee | (1956-1969); member of National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame |
| Ernie Barrett | (1969-1975); known as "Mr. K-State" |
| DeLoss Dodds | (1978-1981) |
| Steve Miller | (1988-1992) |
| Tim Weiser | (2001-2008); Resigned from K-State to become the Big 12's deputy commissioner |
| Robert "Bob" Krause | (2008-) |
[edit] Football
Kansas State University began competing in football in 1896. Historically, Kansas State had one of the worst programs in Division I. Before 2003, Kansas State had only one conference title, in 1934. In 1989, the athletic department hired Bill Snyder, and he orchestrated arguably the greatest turnaround in college football history that culminated in a Big 12 Championship in 2003. Snyder retired at the end of the 2005 season, and Ron Prince was hired as his replacement. Prince has a career head coaching record of 12-13.
[edit] Basketball
The men's and women's basketball teams play their home games in Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas.
[edit] Men's basketball
Kansas State's men's basketball team began competition in 1902. The program has a long history of success. The first two major conference titles captured by the school were won in the sport, in 1917 and 1919, in the Missouri Valley Conference. Kansas State has gone on to capture 17 conference crowns in the sport. Currently, Frank Martin is the head coach.
[edit] Women's basketball
Kansas State's women's basketball team began intercollegiate competition in 1968. The team is among the top 15 all-time winningest programs in the NCAA.
The women's team has participated in 14 total NCAA basketball tournaments and AIAW tournaments (pre-NCAA). K-State has finished ranked in the Top Ten of the AP Poll on three occasions (1984, 2003, 2004), and in the top twenty nine times. Following the 2005-2006 season, Kansas State was crowned champion of the Women's National Invitation Tournament. The team returned to the WNIT Final Four following the 2006-2007 season.
The current head coach is Deb Patterson.
[edit] Baseball
Kansas State's baseball team began play in 1897. The Wildcats earned what is believed to be the school's first varsity championship in 1907 under coach Mike Ahearn. The Wildcats went on to win a Missouri Valley Conference championship in 1928 and Big Six Conference championships in 1930 and 1933.
Other milestones in the team's history include Earl Woods, the father of golfer Tiger Woods, becoming the first African-American baseball player in the Big Seven Conference in 1952, as well as all-time coaching wins leader Mike Clark winning the Big Eight Coach of the Year award in 1990.
The Wildcats have not traditionally been competitive on the national scale, as the Wildcats have never participated in an NCAA Tournament. K-State has qualified three times for the Big 12 Conference tournament in the conference's 12 years. The most recent appearance came in 2008. The Wildcats also earned a birth in the Big 12 Conference tournament in 2007 and 2002.
Hill's teams have also earned national rankings in three of his first four seasons. The Wildcats call Tointon Family Stadium home.
[edit] Track and field
Kansas State began competing in track and field in 1904.
Through the end of the 2005-2006 season, K-State athletes have won individual NCAA national championships 38 times. The program also produced 104 women's outdoor All-Americans, 63 men's outdoor All-Americans, 64 women's indoor All-Americans, and 81 men's indoor All-Americans. Fourteen Kansas State athletes have attended 12 Olympic Games and have won seven medals.
Legendary coach Ward Haylett, who is enshrined in the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, left a strong imprint on the Kansas State program. He was head coach at the school from 1928-1963.
[edit] Volleyball
The team currently plays in Ahearn Field House in Manhattan, Kansas.
Kansas State's women's volleyball team began intercollegiate competition in 1974. The team is among the all-time winningest programs in the NCAA.
As of the close of the 2007 season, the team has participated in 11 NCAA tournaments, including ten consecutive tournaments from 1996 to 2005. K-State also participated in the AIAW tournament in 1977. K-State has finished ranked in the top twenty of the AVCA poll five times, and in the top 25 on ten occasions. The team most recently participated in the NCAA tournament in 2007, advancing to the second round.
The current head coach is Suzie Fritz. Fritz has led the Wildcats to five NCAA Tournament appearances in six seasons as head coach, including two Sweet 16 appearances, and the school's first conference title in volleyball in 2003. As of the close of the 2007 season, Fritz also holds the highest winning percentage among all K-State's volleyball coaches after compiling a record of 124-62 (.667). In nine seasons total on staff (including three as an assistant coach), Fritz has coached seven All-Americans, 12 All-Region performers and 29 all-conference players.[1]
[edit] Racial integration at Kansas State
Kansas State historically has been welcoming to all races. Records show as far back as the 1940's and 1950's (a time regarded by many for its lack of civil rights in the United States), the leadership of K-State Sports took a strong stance in support of racial integration.
[edit] Football
In 1949, African-American Harold Robinson played football for Kansas State with an athletic scholarship. Robinson broke the decades-long "color barrier" in the Big Seven Conference playing for head coach Ralph Graham. Robinson later compared Graham to Branch Rickey, the general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers who hired Jackie Robinson to integrate baseball in 1947.[2]
[edit] Baseball
In the 1950s, the conference "color barrier" was broken in baseball by another Kansas State program. An indicator of the acceptance of this position is reflected in an article published in The Tulsa World about Earl Woods (the father of golf great Tiger Woods) that occurred in the early 1950s during a baseball game:
- Former teammate Larry Hartshorn recalled an instance when the Wildcats were scheduled to play a spring game against a team from Mississippi. During warm-ups, the Mississippi coach took notice of Earl, and according to Hartshorn, the coach said his team would play the game only if the black player stayed on the bus.
- Instead, K-State coach Ray Wauthier put everybody on the bus. "We just left," Hartshorn said.
--Tulsa World, 8/3/2007[3]
[edit] Notable alumni
[edit] See also
[edit] Conference Membership History
- 1897-1922: No conference
- 1923-1928: Missouri Valley Conference
- 1929-1947: Big Six Conference
- 1948-1957: Big Seven Conference
- 1958-1995: Big Eight Conference
- 1996-Present: Big Twelve Conference
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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