Kansas State Wildcats football

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)
For current information on this topic, see
2008 Kansas State football team
Kansas State Wildcats
First season 1896
Staff
Athletic director Bob Krause
Head coach Ron Prince
3rd year, 12–13
Stadium
Home stadium Bill Snyder Family Stadium
Stadium capacity 52,200
Stadium surface FieldTurf
Location Manhattan, Kansas
League/Conference
Conference Big 12
Division North
Team records
All-time record 442–584–41 (.433)
Postseason bowl record 6–7
Awards
Conference titles 2, (1934, 2003)
All-Americans 34
Pageantry
Colors Purple and White            
Fight song Wildcat Victory
Mascot Willie The Wildcat
Marching band Pride Of Wildcat Land
Major Rival Kansas Jayhawks
Website K-State Sports

The Kansas State Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate football program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the North Division of the Big 12 Conference. The current head coach is Ron Prince.

Contents

[edit] History

Kansas State's football team began play in 1896. The team experienced its first sustained success in the 1920s and 1930s. Elden Auker was part of a group of excellent athletes that attended Kansas State around the time of the Great Depression, which also included Ralph Graham, Henry Cronkite, George Maddox and Elmer Hackney. On the football field, these athletes were coupled with a series of Hall of Fame coaches. The first of these coaches was Z.G. Clevenger, who arrived in 1916, when Kansas State essentially swapped head coaches with the University of Tennessee. Clevenger is today in the College Football Hall of Fame for his playing abilities, but he is also recognized as a brilliant coach and administrator. Clevenger was followed as football coach in 1920 by Charles Bachman, who stayed until 1927, and earned his way into the College Football Hall of Fame with his coaching prowess. Bachman is also responsible for permanently endowing Kansas State’s sports teams with the nickname of "Wildcats." His successor, Alvin "Bo" McMillin, the coach from 1928-33, is also in the College Football Hall of Fame as a player, but he too was a brilliant coach who, after leaving Kansas State, was recognized as national collegiate coach of the year and then served as head coach for two NFL teams. After McMillin left, Kansas State hired Lynn "Pappy" Waldorf, who would also subsequently be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach.

With this combination, Kansas State found a rare sustained stretch of success on the football field. In 1931 the football team was on track for a potential bid to the Rose Bowl, the sole bowl game in the country at the time, until Ralph Graham was injured. In 1934 Kansas State won its first conference football championship. That same year, the New York Times referred to Kansas State "an established Middle Western leader." But then Coach Waldorf abruptly left, and the winning stopped – Kansas State would not win its second conference football title until 2003.

Despite these shining moments in the 1920s and 1930s, by the 1980s the school was known as one of the worst programs in the NCAA. Before Bill Snyder was hired in 1989, the Wildcats had been to only one bowl game, the 1982 Independence Bowl. It all changed in 1989, when the athletic department hired Bill Snyder to replace Stan Parrish as head coach. Snyder previously held the position of Offensive Coordinator at The University of Iowa. Success and high rankings followed, culminating in a #1 national ranking during the 1998 season and a Big 12 Conference championship in 2003. Bill Snyder retired following the 2005 season, and Ron Prince was named the new head coach. In his first season, Prince guided the Wildcats to their first winning record (7-6) in three years and a spot in the inaugural Texas Bowl against Rutgers University. Prince's second season in 2007 ended with a 5-7 record.

[edit] National Award Winners

Kansas State players and coaches have won the following national awards:

Note:

Michael Bishop finished second in the 1998 Heisman Trophy voting.

Darren Sproles finished fifth in the 2003 Heisman Trophy voting.

[edit] Currently

The team plays in Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas.

K-State's biggest rivalry in football is the Sunflower Showdown matchup against the University of Kansas.

The KSU Marching Band, also known as the Pride of Wildcat Land, performs at all home football games and bowl games.

[edit] Bill Snyder Era

Snyder took over a program that had won only 299 games and lost 510 games in 93 years of play, but presided over one of the most successful rebuilding projects in the history of college athletics.

In 1991, Snyder's Wildcats finished 7-4 and narrowly missed receiving the school's second bowl bid ever. The team also finished with a winning record in conference play for only the third time since winning the conference title in 1934.

In Snyder's fifth season in 1993, Kansas State posted the first victory in a bowl game in school history. Success and high rankings continued over the next decade, including six top-ten finishes in the AP Poll and a perfect (11-0) regular season in 1998 (before stumbling in the Big 12 Championship Game). As the team improved, recruiting also improved, and Snyder was able to bring in athletes such as quarterback Michael Bishop, the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1998, and running back Darren Sproles, who in 2003 led the nation in rushing and holds the current Big 12 all-purpose yards record for a career. The run of success culminated in a Big 12 Conference championship in 2003 with a 35-7 victory over the #1 ranked Oklahoma. (The 69 years since the last conference title in 1934 was the longest span between football titles in Division I history.)

In his 17 years as head coach at K-State, Snyder won 136 games – as many as his predecessors had won from 1935 to 1988 – and led Kansas State to eleven consecutive bowl games (1993-2003), including six wins. Snyder's legacy at K-State also includes winning or sharing four Big 12 North titles (1998, 1999 (Tie), 2000, 2003).

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. Coach Snyder was also 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 named Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year twice, in 1998 (Associated Press, coaches) and 2002 (coaches).

The winning attitude under former coach Snyder was represented by a stylized wildcat, called the "Powercat" (shown at top), that was added to the football team's uniforms in 1989. The emblem became so popular that by the late 1990s it had essentially replaced "Willie the Wildcat," a character designed by art department students in the late 1950s.

Snyder retired following the 2005 season, and on December 5, 2005, Ron Prince was named the new head coach. Prince was formerly an assistant coach and offensive line coach at the University of Virginia.

[edit] Ron Prince Era

On December 5, 2005, Ron Prince was hired as the 31st head football coach of the Kansas State Wildcats.

In 2006, Prince's first year at the helm of the Wildcats, he led Kansas State to a 7-6 record and the team's first winning season since 2003. The signature win of the regular season was a 45-42 upset victory over #4-ranked University of Texas on November 11, 2006. Kansas State finished the season with a 37-10 loss to the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University in the inaugural Texas Bowl on December 28, 2006.

Josh Freeman uses all of his 6'6 frame to pass over the Texas line
Josh Freeman uses all of his 6'6 frame to pass over the Texas line

In 2007, the Wildcats compiled a 5-7 record in the 2007 season. Coach Prince got the team off to a quick start, with a 3-1 record and a #24 ranking in the AP Poll after four weeks – the first ranking for Kansas State since the 2004 season. This start included another victory against a top 10-ranked Texas team, this time by 20 points.[1] However, in the next five games, the team alternated wins and losses. In the fifth game of the season, the Wildcat team was upset 30-24 by its cross-state opponents, the University of Kansas, and fell from the Top 25.[2] The following week, Kansas State defeated the University of Colorado 47-20 and reentered the poll at number 25. K-State fell from the Top 25 permanently the next week after a 41-39 loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, despite quarterback Josh Freeman having a career day, throwing for 404 yards and three touchdown passes to Jordy Nelson. A win against the Baylor Bears and four losses followed to close out the season.

2008, will be Ron Prince's third season at Kansas State. Prince signed 19 junior college transfers during the 2008 recruiting class. According to Rivals.com, Kansas State's class ranks number 27 in the nation. Prince brought in a total of 32 recruits, tied for fourth-most in the country. Only Army, Troy, and Miami had more recruits. (Alabama also brought in 32 recruits)

[edit] Individual Records

[edit] Passing

  • Yards (Career): 6,208, Lynn Dickey (1968-1970)
  • Yards (Season): 2,844, Michael Bishop (1998)
  • Yards (Game): 489, Chad May (Nebraska, 1993)

[edit] Rushing

[edit] Receiving

[edit] Defensive

  • Sacks (Career): 29.5, Darren Howard (1996-1999)
  • Sacks (Season): 11.5, Nylie Wiren (1996)
  • Interceptions (Career): 15, Jamie Mendez (1990-1993)
  • Interceptions (Game): 8, Chris Canty (1995)
  • Tackles (Career): 543, Gary Spani (1974-1977)
  • Tackles (Season): 184, Josh Buhl (2003)

[3]

[edit] Notable former Wildcats

David Allen Jonathan Beasley, Monty Beisel, Michael Bishop, Josh Buhl, Jerametrius Butler, Chris Canty, Rock Cartwright, Tim Colston, Jarrod Cooper, Henry Cronkite,Lynn Dickey, Zac Diles, Jon Doty, Demarcus Faggins, Mario Fatafehi, Yamon Figurs, Martin Gramatica, Steve Grogan, Ray Hahn, Joe Hall, Bryan Hickman, Darren Howard, Kevin Huntley, Jeff Kelly, Ben Leber, Nick Leckey, Ryan Lilja, Aaron Lockett, Kevin Lockett, George Maddox, Chad May, Darnell McDonald, Jon McGraw, Damion McIntosh, Shad Meier, Jamie Mendez, Quincy Morgan, Frank Murphy, Terence Newman, Terry Pierce, Thomas Randolph, Tank Reese, Jamie Rheem, Joe Rheem, Ell Roberson, Josh Scobey, Clarence Scott , Andrew Shull, Mark Simoneau, J.J. Smith, Sean Snyder, Gary Spani*, Darren Sproles, Veryl Switzer, James Terry, Taco Wallace, Rashad Washington [4]

Bold represents that the player was an All-American

Gary Spani is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame

[edit] All-time records versus Conferences

[edit] Football Bowl Subdivision

Conference Wins Losses Ties
Atlantic Coast Conference 2 9 0
Big 12 Conference 196 410 21
Big East Conference 4 8 0
Big Ten Conference 5 25 1
Conference USA 13 15 1
Independent 0 2 0
Mid-American Conference 11 2 0
Mountain West Conference 21 16 0
Pacific-10 Conference 7 14 1
Southeastern Conference 7 14 0
Sun Belt Conference 12 1 0
Western Athletic Conference 9 7 0

[edit] Football Championship Subdivision

Conference Wins Losses Ties
Big Sky Conference 2 0 0
Colonial Athletic Association 1 0 0
Independent 3 0 0
Great West Football Conference 3 0 0
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 1 1 0
Missouri Valley Football Conference 7 3 0
Ohio Valley Conference 2 1 0
Pioneer Football League 2 3 0
Southland Conference 0 1

[edit] Divsion II

Conference Wins Losses Ties
Great Lakes Football Conference 1 0 0
Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association 40 20 6
North Central Conference 3 0 0

[edit] Divsion III

Conference Wins Losses Ties
American Southwest Conference 0 1 0
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference 2 0 0
University Athletic Association 3 1 0

[edit] NAIA

Conference Wins Losses Ties
Heart of America Athletic Conference 7 2 0
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference 20 7 1
  • Records using Conference Alignment at time of game

[5]

[edit] Bowl games

Kansas State has participated in 13 bowl games, with an overall record of 6-7. Kansas State had a streak of 11 straight bowl appearances that lasted from the 1993 season to the 2003 season.

Not included in this tally of bowl games is Kansas State's first "post-season" game, played in 1931 against Wichita State as a fundraiser during the Great Depression.[6] Kansas State won that game 20-6. Also not included is the 1992 Coca-Cola Classic game played in Tokyo, Japan against Nebraska as it is considered a regular season game.[7]

Date Result Bowl Opponent Score Head Coach
12/11/1982 L Independence Bowl Wisconsin 14 - 3 Jim Dickey
12/29/1993 W Copper Bowl Wyoming 52 - 7 Bill Snyder
12/25/1994 L Aloha Bowl Boston College 12 - 7 Bill Snyder
12/29/1995 W Holiday Bowl Colorado State 54 - 21 Bill Snyder
1/1/1997 L Cotton Bowl BYU 19 - 15 Bill Snyder
12/31/1997 W Fiesta Bowl Syracuse 35 - 18 Bill Snyder
12/29/1998 L Alamo Bowl Purdue 37 - 34 Bill Snyder
12/29/1999 W Holiday Bowl Washington 24 - 20 Bill Snyder
1/1/2001 W Cotton Bowl Tennessee 35 - 21 Bill Snyder
12/29/2001 L Insight.com Bowl Syracuse 26 - 3 Bill Snyder
12/27/2002 W Holiday Bowl Arizona State 34 - 27 Bill Snyder
1/2/2004 L Fiesta Bowl Ohio State 35 - 28 Bill Snyder
12/28/2006 L Texas Bowl Rutgers 37 - 10 Ron Prince

[edit] Conference Membership History

[edit] References

  1. ^ NCAA Football - Kansas State Wildcats/Texas Longhorns Recap Saturday September 29, 2007 - Yahoo! Sports
  2. ^ KUsports.com - Big win in Little Apple!
  3. ^ Kansas State Football History Database
  4. ^ Wildcats in the Pros - Kansas State University Wildcats Official Athletics Site
  5. ^ Kansas State vs Conferences
  6. ^ College Football in Kansas, by Harold C. Evans, Kansas Historical Quarterly, August, 1940
  7. ^ Kansas State Game by Game Results

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
v • d • e
Kansas State football seasons

1896 • 1897 • 1898 • 1899 • 1900 • 1901 • 1902 • 1903 • 1904 • 1905 • 1906 • 1907 • 1908 • 1909 • 1910 • 1911 • 1912 • 1913 • 1914 • 1915 • 1916 • 1917 • 1918 • 1919 • 1920 • 1921 • 1922 • 1923 • 1924 • 1925 • 1926 • 1927 • 1928 • 1929 • 1930 • 1931 • 1932 • 1933 • 1934 • 1935 • 1936 • 1937 • 1938 • 1939 • 1940 • 1941 • 1942 • 1943 • 1944 • 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949 • 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012
Bold indicates a Conference Championship year
v • d • e
Kansas State Wildcats Head Football Coaches

Pratt • Ehrsam • Williamson • Hanson • Moulton • Moore • C.E. Dietz • G. O. Dietz • Booth • Ahearn • Lowman • Bender • Clevenger • Bachman • McMillin • Waldorf • Fry • Adams • Haylett • Fiser • Francis • Graham • Meek • Mertes • Weaver • Gibson • Rainsberger • Dickey • Parrish • Snyder • Prince
v • d • e
Kansas State University
Academics
College of Agriculture • College of Architecture, Planning and Design • College of Arts and Sciences • College of Business Administration • College of Education • College of Engineering • College of Human Ecology • College of Technology and Aviation • College of Veterinary Medicine • Graduate School
Athletics
Big 12 • Kansas State Wildcats • Football • Men's Basketball • Women's Basketball • Baseball • KSU Marching Band • Wildcat Victory • Wabash Cannonball • Sunflower Showdown • Bill Snyder Family Stadium • Bramlage Coliseum • Ahearn Field House • Tointon Stadium • Memorial Stadium • Breidenthal Teamhouse • Colbert Hills • R. V. Christian Track Complex
Campus
Culture
Broadcasting
v • d • e
Big 12 Conference
North Division
South Division