Bill Snyder transformed Kansas State football — and never changed himself
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MANHATTAN, KS – In a neighborhood just north of the stadium that bears his name, Bill Snyder still resides in the only home that he owns. It’s the same one he had built when he arrived to pull off the greatest turnaround in college sports history decades ago.
There’s no need for a second house on the beach, Snyder smiles. The Little Apple is home, and he could visit the beach whenever he wants. In good health, the 86-year-old legendary coach said he couldn’t imagine himself anywhere else.
A memory then washed over him.
“I used to just go into Manhattan and walk the streets, just to be involved with the people and the community,” Snyder said, looking away as if he was imagining himself doing so at the moment. “I remember a man sitting in the street with a cup out, and he was taking money, and I stopped and sat down and visited with him.”
Rather than asking the coach for money, the man wanted to talk about Kansas State football. Of course, Snyder was the icon who helped the Wildcats rise from the ashes of Futility U and become a winner by his fifth year.
The conversation was reminiscent of the time when he was interviewing for the Wildcats’ job amid their then-26-game losing streak. Famously, he asked to be dropped off in the middle of campus and asked random students about the football team. When he recognized a hunger to succeed, he accepted the job shortly after.
The man he sat down with further confirmed everything he already knew from that walk around campus.
“He knew about our program, and he wanted to talk about the program and how much he enjoyed the program and how he thought it was doing well,” Snyder said, before a pause and a smile. “I hadn’t thought about that in a long time. Anyway, I invited him to all the games, get in free and, you know, have something.”
The Manhattan community still means everything to Snyder as he continues to reside in his longtime home.
These days, the coach is often found walking around his neighborhood or spending time with family. Oftentimes, his wife will suggest a restaurant for them to go to.
He’ll attend Kansas State functions when asked and has no problem going to the grocery store, despite being the local legend with his name on a highway, stadium and seemingly anything else that’s a stone’s throw away. When he walks into Bramlage Coliseum for a basketball game, applause and many handshakes will follow.
“People are very gratuitous,” Snyder said. “We just try to lead a regular life.”
Memorabilia or accolades don’t hang on his walls. They’re in a closet somewhere, he said, laughing that his wife had seen enough of them. Rather, photos of time spent with each other, children and grandchildren take up most of the space.
If you didn’t know he was among the greatest college football coaches to ever walk a sideline, you wouldn’t have been able to tell.
Snyder doesn’t need the photos to remind him of the countless great memories he’s gathered since the first game he coached at KSU Stadium in 1989. Those memories linger in his mind, and he often finds himself reminiscing about the situation he took over and what it has become.
“I still smile at what we got into when we got here and always not being aware of what some of the issues were,” Snyder said. “With the help of so many people, we were able to overcome so much of it. The unknown of it, I think, brings humor.”
Funny enough, the first of his 215 career wins, the 15th most in college football history, might be his favorite. There was nothing like watching the celebration that followed the Wildcats’ first win in about three years. Other victories in the following seasons matched that high.
To Snyder, more important than any victory are the successes of the many players who came through the program, whether on or off the field. He couldn’t tell you how many he stays in touch with, but he hears from quite a few. Collin Klein, whom he coached from 2009-12 and who is now the program’s head coach, often stops by his home.
Not too far down the road from Bill Snyder Family Stadium, a peaceful home with a faded “Snyder” nameplate on the door and an old basketball hoop at the end of his long driveway remains. It’s a good home, surrounded by family and the people that he loves.
Snyder couldn’t imagine himself anywhere else.
“I love it here,” Snyder said. “Like I’ve said, we came because of the people and stayed because of the people. We can go any place we want to and enjoy ourselves, but we’ll always find ourselves back here.”
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Bill Snyder transformed Kansas State football — and never changed himself
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