Kansas State Wildcats football

Kansas State Wildcats football
2012 Kansas State Wildcats football team
First season	1896
Athletic director	John Currie
Head coach	Bill Snyder 21st year, 170–84–1  (.669)
Home stadium	Bill Snyder Family Stadium
Stadium capacity	50,000
Stadium surface	GameDayGrass 3D60H
Location	Manhattan, Kansas
Conference	Big 12
All-time record	486–615–41 (.444)
Postseason bowl record	6–10
Conference titles	6 (1909, 1910, 1912, 1934, 2003, 2012)
Consensus All-Americans	11
Current uniform
Colors	Royal Purple
Fight song	Wildcat Victory
Mascot	Willie the Wildcat
Marching band	The Pride Of Wildcat Land
Trophy game rival	Kansas Jayhawks
Website	K-State Sports

The Kansas State Wildcats football program (variously Kansas State, K-State, or KSU) is the intercollegiate football program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision (FBS), and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference.

Historically, the team has an all-time losing record, at 486–615–41 as of the conclusion of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. However, the program has had some stretches of winning in its history, most recently and most notably under head coach Bill Snyder from the 1990s through the 2010s. In 1998 Kansas State finished the regular season with an undefeated (11–0) record, and from 1995 to 2001 the school appeared in the AP Poll for 108 consecutive weeks – the 14th-longest streak in college football history.

Since 1968, the team has played in Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas. The Kansas State University Marching Band, also known as the Pride of Wildcat Land, performs at all home games and bowl games.

History

See also: List of Kansas State Wildcats football seasons

According to most sources, Kansas State's football team began play on Thanksgiving Day 1893. A team from Kansas State defeated St. Mary's College 18–10 on that date. Other sources name Kansas State's first game as a 24–0 victory over a team from Abilene, Kansas, on November 3, 1894. However, the first official game recorded in the team's history is a 14–0 loss to Fort Riley on November 28, 1896.

Coach Guy Lowman in 1912

In its earliest years, the program had a different coach every year – generally a former college football player who had just graduated from college. Often, the coaches also played with the team during the games. Some of the coaches during this era include Fay Moulton (1900), who went on to win Olympic medals as a sprinter; Wade Moore (1901), who later was a successful minor league baseball manager; and Cyrus E. Dietz (1902), who became a justice on the Illinois Supreme Court. The pattern changed when Mike Ahearn became the first long-term coach in 1905. Ahearn coached for six seasons, leading the team to winning records each year, and concluding in the 1910 season with a 10–1 mark. Ahearn also won two conference championships in the Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association, in 1909 and 1910. Ahearn was followed by Guy Lowman, who led Kansas State to another conference championship in 1912.

Early success

All-conference football star Tom Sebring in 1922

Kansas State was invited into the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1913. After a few years adjusting to a higher level of competition, the school experienced 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. 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 in the College Football Hall of Fame for his playing abilities, but he was also recognized as a brilliant coach and administrator. Clevenger was followed as football coach in 1920 by Charlie Bachman, who stayed until 1927, and earned his way into the College Football Hall of Fame with his coaching prowess. Bachman was 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 successful 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 was also later 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 major conference football championship. That same year, the New York Times referred to Kansas State as "an established Middle Western leader." But then coach Waldorf abruptly left, and the winning stopped.

On October 28, 1939, Kansas State hosted the second televised college football game (and the first televised homecoming game), losing to Nebraska 25–9.

Mid-century

Over the next sixty years, Kansas State would experience very little success on the football field. From 1935 to 1990, Kansas State would have only four winning seasons. According to longtime Wildcat radio announcer Dev Nelson, part of the problem was that Kansas State was one of the few major schools that didn't make a significant investment in its football program after World War II. Indeed, for many years the Wildcats spent far less on football – and athletics as a whole – than any Big Eight school. For example, in 1987–1988, the University of Oklahoma (the conference's second smallest school) spent $12.5 million on athletics while Kansas State spent $5.5 million.

Reflective of the mid-century futility was a 28-game losing streak from 1945–1948, the second-longest in NCAA FBS history. Kansas State also had losing streaks of 18 and 17 games in the 1960s. In the middle of posting an 0–10 record in the 1947 season, the Kansas State program slipped below the .500 all-time winning percentage, where it has remained since.

However, there were a few shining moments during these decades. In the mid-1950s, coach Bill Meek started to rebuild the program. In 1953, Kansas State posted a 5–3–1 record, the first winning season at the school since Wes Fry's 1936 team. Upon starting that season 5–1, K-State also made the school's first appearance in the top 20 polls for college football, at #18 in the Coaches Poll on October 28, 1953. The following year was even better, with Kansas State posting a 7–3 record and playing for an Orange Bowl berth in their final game. But Meek left Kansas State following the 1954 season, when the school refused to give raises to his assistants.

In the late 1960s, coach Vince Gibson also briefly started to turn the program around. Behind sophomore quarterback Lynn Dickey, the 1968 squad earned the school's first ranking in the AP Poll and shut out the University of Nebraska in Lincoln for the school's first victory over NU in a decade. That same season, Kansas State also moved into newly built KSU Stadium. The 1969 season was even better. The team started 2–0 before second-ranked Penn State University arrived to play in Manhattan, Kansas. Penn State would ultimately finish the 1969 season undefeated, but Kansas State provided them with one of their toughest tests in a 17–14 game. Following the loss to Penn State, Kansas State reeled off three straight victories, including a win over defending conference champion Kansas in the first Governor's Cup game, and a 59–21 blowout of eleventh-ranked Oklahoma, which was Kansas State's first win over OU since 1934. (It was also the largest loss in Oklahoma's history.) After the Oklahoma game, Kansas State sported a 5–1 record and a #12 national ranking in the AP Poll. This was the high-point of the season, as the team lost its last four games to finish 5–5. Nevertheless, in only his third season, Gibson had dramatically improved the program.

Prior to the 1970 season, Gibson was named the pre-season national coach of the year by Playboy Magazine. The season that followed was up-and-down but ultimately disappointing despite a winning record and a second-place finish in the Big Eight Conference. Kansas State won at Oklahoma and defeated eighth-ranked Colorado, but the season was soured by nonconference defeats and a blow-out loss to Nebraska in the final conference game of the year with the conference title on the line. The worst news of the season came on October 7, 1970, when the conference issued penalties against Kansas State for recruiting violations. The Wildcats were placed on three years' probation, including a one-year ban from bowl games and live television. Gibson would never have another winning season, and left the school in 1974. He later said that the sanctions – the product of what he called an immature quarrel between himself and Jayhawk coach Pepper Rodgers – destroyed everything he'd built over his first four years.

Despite these fleeting moments of glory, by 1989 the school had become the first program in Division I-A (FBS) to lose 500 games, and had the worst overall record in the nation at 299–509–41. Things changed in 1989, when the athletic department hired Iowa's offensive coordinator, Bill Snyder, to replace Stan Parrish as head coach.

First Bill Snyder era

Bill Snyder took over a program that had the worst record in NCAA Division I-A (FBS) and had gone winless in its prior 27 consecutive games. Snyder then 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.

Coach Bill Snyder in 2009

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 against Texas A&M). 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 led the nation in rushing in 2003 and holds the Big 12 record for all-purpose yards in 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 first 17-year stint 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 during his first term also included winning or sharing four Big 12 North titles (1998, 1999, 2000, 2003), and posting six 11-win seasons.

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 during his first term, in 1998 (Associated Press, coaches) and 2002 (coaches).

The winning attitude under 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.

Ron Prince era

On December 5, 2005, Ron Prince was hired as the 33rd head football coach of the Kansas State Wildcats. Prince was formerly an offensive line coach at the University of Virginia.

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 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 in a 45–42 victory in 2006.

In Prince's second season, the team was led by quarterback Josh Freeman and received Jordy Nelson, but slipped to a 5–7 record. Coach Prince got the 2007 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. However, in the next five games, the team alternated wins and losses and fell from the Top 25. Four losses followed to close out the season.

The 2008 season was Ron Prince's third at Kansas State. Coach Prince led the 2008 team to another 5–7 record. With three games remaining in the season, on November 5, 2008, the school announced that Ron Prince would not return as Kansas State head coach in 2009.

Bill Snyder returns

On November 23, 2008 Kansas State University announced that Bill Snyder was hired to replace Ron Prince. Snyder initially received a 5-year, $1.8 million contract.

In 2009, Snyder lead the team to a 6–6 record, going 4–4 in Big 12 play, and falling one game short of winning the Big 12 North. The team failed to make a bowl game for the third consecutive season. Following a loss to UCLA at the Rose Bowl on September 19, 2009, Kansas State became the fourth FBS teams to lose 600 games, joining Northwestern, Indiana, and Wake Forest.

Snyder led the 2010 team to an improved 7–6 record, with a 3–5 record in conference play, good for third in the North division. The season ended with a loss to Syracuse in the 2010 Pinstripe Bowl – K-State's first bowl appearance since Ron Prince lead the school to the 2006 Texas Bowl.

In 2011 Coach Snyder led the team to a 10–3 record, a second-place finish in the Big 12 Conference, and a #15 ranking in the final AP Poll. The team finished the season with a loss to the #7 Arkansas Razorbacks in the Cotton Bowl. It was the first ten-win season and first top-20 ranking for Kansas State since the 2003 season. After the season Snyder was named the Woody Hayes Coach of the Year and the Sporting News National Coach of the Year, as well as the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year.

In 2012, Snyder's Wildcats won the school's sixth conference football championship, and first since 2003. Although officially Big 12 co-champions with Oklahoma, the Wildcats' head-to-head victory over OU earned K-State the conference's automatic berth in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl. K-State lost the Fiesta Bowl to the Oregon Ducks, 35-17. After the season, Coach Snyder was named the conference coach of the year for the seventh time in his career. He also was awarded the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award for the second time. He and Joe Paterno are the only two-time winners of the award.

Top 25 rankings

Kansas State University has finished in the final rankings of the AP Poll or Coaches Poll on twelve occasions throughout its history, including six top-10 finishes. The AP Poll first appeared in 1934, and has been published continuously since 1936. The Coaches Poll began in the 1950–51 season.

Season	Final Record	AP Poll	Coaches Poll
1993	9-2-1	20	18
1994	9-3	19	16
1995	10-2	7	6
1996	9-3	17	17
1997	11-1	8	7
1998	11-2	10	9
1999	11-1	6	6
2000	11-3	9	8
2002	11-2	7	6
2003	11-4	14	13
2011	10-3	15	16
2012	11-2	12	11

Home fields

Kansas State's first official playing field was an open public square in Manhattan located at Bluemont Avenue and 8th Street, which it began using in 1897. The square hosted Kansas State baseball games and track meets in addition to football contests. The first improvements built at this site were a wooden fence around the square and a wooden covered grandstand, erected in 1901. A new grandstand was built in 1906, along with a small locker room. Seats for football games in the new grandstand were reserved with a charge of $1.00 for the season, plus the admission fee for each game. Construction of Bluemont Elementary School on that plot of land forced Kansas State to move its athletics on campus beginning in 1911.

The on-campus football field was located at the southwest corner of the campus, and was named Ahearn Field in honor of former coach Mike Ahearn, who had led the football team to a 10-1 record in its last season at the prior field. The covered wooden grandstand and locker room from the old field were moved and used at Ahearn Field.

In 1922, Kansas State opened the first section of Memorial Stadium on the location of Ahearn Field, at a cost of $500,000 USD. The stadium's name was a tribute to Kansas State students who died in World War I. It had a seating capacity of 17,500 when completed, although attendance sometimes exceeded 20,000. By 1967, the school's allegiance outgrew the old stadium, and the team moved to KSU Stadium in 1968.

Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium

Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium

Main article: Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium

KSU Stadium opened its doors September 21, 1968, with a 21-0 victory over Colorado State. The original seating capacity was 35,000. An expansion in the summer of 1970 added 4,000 permanent bleachers on the east side and 3,000 temporary bleachers on the west side. Following the 1998 season, the addition of a deck and sky suites on the east side of the stadium increased capacity to more than 50,000.

In the 1990s, Kansas State was dominant at home, posting a 26-game winning streak from 1996 to 2000. On November 11, 2000, 53,811 fans witnessed Kansas State's 29-28 win over Nebraska; this remains the largest crowd in the stadium's history, and also the largest attendance for any collegiate sporting event in the state of Kansas.

KSU Stadium was renamed "Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium" after head coach Bill Snyder originally retired at the end of the 2005 season.

Bowl games

Main article: List of Kansas State Wildcats bowl games

Kansas State has participated in 16 bowl games, with an overall record of 6–10. The team's first bowl game was the 1982 Independence Bowl, under coach Jim Dickey. The Wildcats lost to the Wisconsin Badgers 14–3 in that contest. The Wildcats did not make another bowl game until 1993, when the team began a streak of eleven straight bowl appearances under coach Bill Snyder that lasted to the 2003 season. This is the 20th-longest bowl streak in college football history.

Kansas State has been invited to two BCS games (the 2004 Fiesta Bowl and the 2013 Fiesta Bowl) and one Bowl Alliance game (a win at the 1997 Fiesta Bowl). The school has also appeared three times in another traditional New Year's Day game, the Cotton Bowl, in 1997, 2001, and in 2012. The Wildcats are 1-2 in Cotton Bowl appearances.

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. Kansas State won that game 20–6. Also not included is the 1992 "Coca-Cola Bowl" played in Tokyo, Japan, against Nebraska, which was a regular season game.

Pageantry and traditions

School color

Royal Purple

The official color of the University is Royal Purple, as highlighted in the official fight song, Wildcat Victory. The athletic department commonly uses white or silver as complementary colors. K-State is one of a handful of colleges and universities to have just one official school color.

Ring of Honor

In 2002, the athletic department inducted the first class into its Ring of Honor. The first class consisted of Sean Snyder, Lynn Dickey, Steve Grogan, Jaime Mendez, Gary Spani and Veryl Switzer. In 2008, a second class was inducted, consisting of Terence Newman, Martín Gramática, David Allen, and Mark Simoneau. The honored players' names and jersey numbers are on the facade of the east side of the stadium. The numbers of the players not considered retired and can be worn by current players.

Uniforms

K-State's home jersey is purple with white lettering, two white stripes around the sleeves, TV numbers on the shoulders and a white powercat under the collar. K-State's away jersey is white with purple lettering, two purple stripes around the sleeves, TV numbers on the shoulders and a purple powercat under the collar. K-State's pants are silver with white stripe and purple trim going down the sides of each leg, and a purple powercat on the front left side of the pants. K-State uses the same pants for both home and away games. K-State's helmets are silver with a dark purple powercat on each side, with a white stripe and purple trim from the top of the face mask to the rear of the helmet. On each side of the helmet's stripe is the number of the player wearing the helmet. Also, the word "Wildcats" is written on the back of the helmet at the very bottom. K-State uses the same helmets for both home and away games.

The team has worn these uniforms from 2010 to present, and previously from 1989 to 2007.

In 2008, the Wildcats introduced purple pants while playing road games. These debuted in the first road game of the season at Louisville. The team wore purple pants every road game in 2008 until the final road game of the season at Missouri, when the Wildcats wore gray pants. On November 15, 2008, Kansas State wore purple pants with purple jerseys at home against Nebraska, marking the first time since 1988 that the team wore all-purple uniforms. The Wildcats warmed up for the Nebraska game with their traditional purple jerseys with gray pants, but came out for the game wearing purple pants.

Willie the Wildcat entertains a young fan

Mascot

The official mascot for the Kansas State Wildcats is Willie the Wildcat. Willie the Wildcat appears at every football game, home and away, as well as every home men's and women's basketball games, volleyball games, and select baseball games. Willie does one push-up for each point the football team scores, followed by the traditional "K!-S!-U! Wildcats!" cheer.

Fort Riley day

Once a year (usually on the second non-conference home game of the season) soldiers from nearby Fort Riley are given free tickets to the game. During the game they receive special recognition. Since 2008 Willie has donned digital US Army fatigues in place of his usual football pants and jersey. The Fort Riley game often has high attendance numbers.

Good for a "first down"

In 1992, K-State installed a new $3.3 million press box, and the public address announcer began what would become a K-State tradition. After a Wildcat first down, the announcer would say, "Good for a Wildcat first down." Throughout the 1993 season, the P.A. announcer did this ritual alone. However, he said at the beginning of the 1994 season the crowd started to shout it with him.^{[citation needed]} Now, with the addition of the first down and touchdown arm motions, K-State's P.A. announcer no longer even needs to finish the phrase, as the Wildcat fans finish it for him. The practice has spread across the country, and is heard in college and NFL football stadium.^{[citation needed]}

EMAW

EMAW stands for "Every Man a Wildcat," dates back decades of history, and symbolizes that one is a part of the Wildcat nation.

Harley Day

During Harley Day, Willie wears a leather vest or jacket with leather chaps on top of his usual football jersey and pants and rides into Bill Snyder Family Stadium on a Harley Davidson motorcycle, followed by around 50 other K-State fans on motorcycles.

Rivalries

Kansas State vs. Kansas (Sunflower Showdown)

See also: Governor's Cup (Kansas) and Kansas–Kansas State football all-time results

Kansas State and Kansas first played in 1902 and have faced each other every season since 1911, making this the third-longest uninterrupted series in college football history. The two rivals compete annually for the Governor's Cup trophy.

Dating back to the beginnings of Kansas State and Kansas football, neither school had sustained excellence consistently. The first time both schools met as ranked teams was not until 1995, when the University of Kansas came into the game 7-0 and ranked #6 in the AP Poll, while Kansas State University was 5-1 and ranked #14. Kansas State beat KU 41-7 in that game. KU leads the all-time series 64–41–5 after the 2012 game, but the rivalry has been more even since the Governor's Cup series began in 1969, with Kansas State holding a 24–19–1 lead. The University of Kansas disputes the series record because it does not acknowledge its forfeit of a 1980 victory.

Kansas State vs. Iowa State

See also: Iowa State–Kansas State football rivalry

Kansas State has played Iowa State every year since 1917. The series record is the closest for Kansas State against any of its old Big Eight Conference rivals, with Iowa State holding a 49–43–4 lead following the 2012 game.

In 2009, the two schools began playing a series of neutral site games in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, and fans and media adopted the name "Farmageddon" for the series. The name alludes to the two schools' agriculture programs. Kansas State University won the first Farmageddon game in Kansas City 24–23 in 2009, and won the 2010 match-up 27–20. After 2010 the schools returned to playing on their campuses. K-State has won 19 of the last 23 games between the two schools.

Kansas State vs. Nebraska

Kansas State and Nebraska were conference rivals for almost a century, from 1913 to 2010. With only 115 miles separating the two schools, they were the closest cross-border rivals in the Big 8 and Big 12 conferences. The two schools played for the first time in 1911, and then played every year from 1922, making it one of the longest uninterrupted series in college football, until Nebraska moved to the Big Ten Conference in 2011.

However, Nebraska long held a commanding lead in the series, keeping the rivalry limited. All-time, Nebraska leads the series 78–15–2. Kansas State also lost 29 consecutive games to Nebraska, lasting from 1969 to November 14, 1998, when #1 Kansas State beat #11 Nebraska 40–30. The record between the two schools after that game was much more even, with Kansas State again beating Nebraska in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004. During that era, the Wildcats and Cornhuskers consistently competed for the Big 12 North championship.

The 1939 contest between the two teams was televised locally in Manhattan, becoming only the second televised college football game. The 1992 contest was played in Tokyo, Japan, as the Coca-Cola Classic.

Individual awards and honors

National

The following Kansas State players and coaches are in the College Football Hall of Fame (with induction year):

• Charlie Bachman (1978)
• Mark Simoneau (2012)
• Gary Spani (2002)
• Lynn "Pappy" Waldorf (1966)

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

Player honors

• Davey O'Brien Award
  Best quarterback

Michael Bishop – 1998

• Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
  Outstanding upperclass quarterback

Collin Klein – 2012

• Jim Thorpe Award
  Top defensive back

Terence Newman – 2002

• Lou Groza Award
  Outstanding kicker

Martín Gramática – 1997

• Heisman Trophy finalists

1970: Lynn Dickey finished tenth in the voting

1998: Michael Bishop finished second in the voting

2003: Darren Sproles finished fifth in the voting

2012: Collin Klein finished third in the voting

Coaching honors

• AP College Football Coach of the Year Award
  Coach of the year

Bill Snyder – 1998

• Sporting News National Coach of the Year
  Coach of the year

Bill Snyder – 2011

• Bobby Dodd Award
  Coach of the year

Bill Snyder – 1998

Bill Snyder – 2012

• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award
  Coach of the year

Bill Snyder – 1998

• Walter Camp Coach of the Year
  Coach of the year

Bill Snyder – 1998

• Woody Hayes Coach of the Year
  Coach of the year

Bill Snyder – 2011

Conference

The Big Eight Conference established a Conference Player of the Year award in 1967 and began giving separate offensive and defensive awards in 1971. The Conference Coach of the Year award was established in 1948. These awards have continued into the Big 12 Conference era.

• Offensive Player of the Year

Collin Klein, QB – 2012

• Defensive Player of the Year

Tim Colston, DL – 1995

Jeff Kelly, LB – 1998

Mark Simoneau, LB – 1999

Terence Newman, DB – 2002

Arthur Brown, LB – 2012

• Coach of the Year

Vince Gibson – 1970

Jim Dickey – 1982

Bill Snyder – 1990

Bill Snyder – 1991

Bill Snyder – 1993

Bill Snyder – 1998

Bill Snyder – 2002

Bill Snyder – 2011

Bill Snyder – 2012

All-Americans and notable former Wildcats

• Bold represents that the player was a first-team All-American at Kansas State University

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, Maurice Elder, Demarcus Faggins, Mario Fatafehi, Josh Freeman, Yamon Figurs, Martin Gramatica, Steve Grogan, Ray Hahn, Darren Howard, Kevin Huntley, Jeff Kelly, Ben Leber, Nick Leckey, Ryan Lilja, Aaron Lockett, Kevin Lockett, George Maddox, Chad May, Jon McGraw, Damion McIntosh, Shad Meier, Jaime Mendez, Quincy Morgan, Frank Murphy, Jordy Nelson, Terence Newman, Terry Pierce, Thomas Randolph, Jamie Rheem, Ell Roberson, Josh Scobey, Clarence Scott , Mark Simoneau, Teddy Sims, Sean Snyder, Gary Spani, Darren Sproles, Veryl Switzer, Daniel Thomas, Rashad Washington

Retired number

Retired numbers
No.	Player	Position	Tenure
11	Lynn Dickey	Quarterback	1968-70
	Steve Grogan	Quarterback	1972-74

Individual accomplishments

Alumni currently in the NFL

• 16 former Wildcats are currently on 53-man rosters in the NFL.

• As of 2013, Kansas State has had at least one player drafted in the last 20 NFL drafts. This is the second longest streak in the Big 12 Conference, behind only Texas.
• Kansas State quarterbacks have started more games in the NFL than quarterbacks from any other school in the Big 12 Conference (305 starts after the 2012 NFL season).

• Brandon Banks, WR Washington Redskins 2010–present
• Bryce Brown, RB Philadelphia Eagles 2012–present
• Jeromey Clary, OL San Diego Chargers 2007–present
• Zac Diles, LB Houston Texans 2007–2010; Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2011; Tennessee Titans 2012–Present
• Josh Freeman, QB Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2009–Present

• Tysyn Hartman, DB Kansas City Chiefs 2012–present
• Rob Jackson LB Washington Redskins 2008–Present
• Emmanuel Lamur, LB Cincinnati Bengals 2012–present
• Ryan Lilja, OL Indianapolis Colts 2004–2009; Kansas City Chiefs 2010–Present
• Jeron Mastrud, TE Miami Dolphins 2010–Present

• Jordy Nelson, WR Green Bay Packers 2008–Present
• Terence Newman, DB Dallas Cowboys 2003–2011; Cincinnati Bengals 2012–Present
• William Powell, RB Arizona Cardinals 2011–Present
• Darren Sproles, RB San Diego Chargers 2005–2010; New Orleans Saints 2011–Present
• Daniel Thomas, RB Miami Dolphins 2011–Present
• Reggie Walker, LB Arizona Cardinals 2009–Present

Individual program records

Kansas State records through the 2011 season

Passing

• Yards (Game): 489, Chad May (vs. Nebraska, 1993)
• Yards (Season): 3,353, Josh Freeman (2007)
• Yards (Career): 8,078, Josh Freeman (2006–2008)

Rushing

• Yards (Game): 292, Darren Sproles (vs. Louisiana-Lafeyette, 2004)
• Yards (Season): 1,986, Darren Sproles (2003)
• Yards (Career): 4,979, Darren Sproles (2001–2004)

Receiving

• Yards (Game): 214, Jordy Nelson (vs. Iowa State, 2007)
• Yards (Season): 1,606, Jordy Nelson (2007)
• Yards (Career): 3,032, Kevin Lockett (1993–1996)

• Receptions (Game): 15, Jordy Nelson (Twice, 2007)
• Receptions (Season): 122, Jordy Nelson (2007)
• Receptions (Career): 217, Kevin Lockett (1993–1996)

Defensive

• Sacks (Game): 4, Chris Johnson (vs. Missouri, 2000)
• Sacks (Season): 11.5, Nyle Wiren (1996); Ian Campbell (2006)
• Sacks (Career): 29.5, Darren Howard (1996–1999)
• Interceptions (Game): 4, Jaime Mendez (vs. Temple, 1992)
• Interceptions (Season): 8, Chris Canty (1995)
• Interceptions (Career): 15, Jamie Mendez (1990–1993)
• Tackles (Game): 28, Danny Lankas (vs. Missouri, 1967)
• Tackles (Season): 184, Josh Buhl (2003)
• Tackles (Career): 543, Gary Spani (1974–1977)

Special Teams

• Most Field Goals Made (Game): 5, Jamie Rheem (vs. Texas, 1999)
• Most Field Goals Made (Season): 22, Martin Gramatica (1998), Brooks Rossman (2007)
• Longest Field Goal: 65, Martin Gramatica (vs. Northern Illinois, 1998) Longest Field Goal in NCAA History
• Most Punts (Game): 12, (four times)
• Most Punts (Season): 83, Don Birdsey (1977)
• Most Punt Returns for Touchdowns (Game): 1, (many times)
• Most Punt Returns for Touchdowns (Season): 4, David Allen (1998)
• Most Kickoff Returns for Touchdowns (Game): 2, Brandon Banks (vs. Tennessee Tech, 2009)
• Most Kickoff Returns for Touchdowns (Season): 4, Brandon Banks (2009)

All-time records versus conferences

Current Division I conferences

• Records using conference alignment at time of game; through the end of the 2012 season.

Conference	Wins	Losses	Ties	Win %
ACC	3	1	0	.750
Big East	4	6	0	.400
Big Ten	5	21	0	.192
Big 12	84	54	0	.609
Big West	10	2	0	.833
Conference USA	4	0	0	1.000
MAC	7	3	0	.700
Missouri Valley*	23	20	1	.534
Pac-12	7	9	0	.438
SEC	3	12	0	.200
Sun Belt	10	1	0	.909
WAC	13	12	0	.520

* Following the split of the Big Six Conference in 1928.

Defunct conferences

Conference	Wins	Losses	Ties	Win %
Big Eight Conference	127	350	21	.276
Border Conference	0	8	1	.056
Mountain States Conference	6	8	0	.429
Southern Conference	1	1	0	.500
Southwest Conference	7	13	0	.350

Records against conference teams

• All-time records, regardless of conference; through the end of the 2012 season.

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Win %
Baylor Bears	7	3	0	.700
Iowa State Cyclones	43	49	4	.469
Kansas Jayhawks	41	64	5	.395
Oklahoma Sooners	18	71	4	.217
Oklahoma State Cowboys	20	36	0	.357
TCU Horned Frogs	3	3	0	.500
Texas Longhorns	8	5	0	.615
Texas Tech Red Raiders	5	8	0	.385
West Virginia Mountaineers	2	1	0	.667
Total	143	239	13	.378

Records against former Big 12 teams

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Win %
Colorado Buffaloes	20	45	1	.311
Nebraska Cornhuskers	15	76	3	.176
Missouri Tigers	32	60	5	.356
Texas A&M Aggies	7	8	0	.467
Total	75	187	9	.293

Conference membership history

• 1896–1899: Independent
• 1900–1912: Kansas College Athletic Conference/Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association
• 1913–1927: Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association
• 1928–1995: Big 6/7/8 Conference
• 1996–Present: Big 12 Conference

Future non-conference opponents

2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
vs North Dakota State	vs Stephen F. Austin	vs South Dakota	vs Charlotte		vs UT-San Antonio	vs Bowling Green
vs Louisiana–Lafayette	vs Auburn	at UT-San Antonio
vs UMass	vs UT-San Antonio

See also

• List of Kansas State Wildcats head football coaches
• List of Kansas State Wildcats football seasons
• List of Kansas State Wildcats bowl games
• List of Kansas State Wildcats in the NFL Draft

External links

• Official website