Why Kansas State University is unique, and why Snyder was perfect for it

watching the retirement press conference was fairly moving to me. nearly brought me to tears because you can really tell this was a man who put everything ahead of himself. I could only dream of being like that (hopefully by age 66 i will have figured it out somewhat). Coach Snyder was man of integrity and Christian values. A man who knew that even though he had the plan, he needed people around him to succeed. He repeatedly said without the people of Kansas State and Manhattan he would not have accomplished what he did or even wanted to come. This is very true. Manhattan is a different place that most people on the outside don't understand. They see it as just a small kansas farm town and can't understand why anyone would want to live there or go to school there.
Manhattan truely exists because of the great university that stands there. It is in every sense of the word a college town. It has 50,000 people there, and the school lists its enrollment at 24,000. Its not some lame extension of johnson county with no real identity. its a place that represents Kansas and everything great about the state. its a place that transforms people and always makes them better than when they arrived. Bill Snyder understood this and without anyone really knowing or understanding his life, put K-State on the national scene by exemplifying the principles already in place. Football was just the stage. I wish people really knew what he did. But he would prefer no-one knew. It was said he was a tireless worker on football but really he probably put just as much time into the community and the university as a whole. He gave us K-Staters something to be proud of and something to identify with. People can say they are fans of a team, and its easy when its always winning, but K-State is different because we know we do it right and we know that what we are really fans of is the principles of the university and community and everyone that makes it so.
If you get a chance, you can view the press conference video for free at www.kstatesports.com.
Here are some interesting quotes from Snyder over the years:
"First, we have to learn how not to beat ourselves. When we learn how to stop losing, then we have to learn how to win. I can't predict anything. My only prediction is that it will happen. But I have no idea how long it will take. I just know it will get done." — Bill Snyder, 1988.
"From a piece of wood, a craftsman worked with such compassion." — Snyder's explanation on why "Pinocchio" is his favorite movie.
"I sought out someone that I had seen on television who I thought could hypnotize me so I would not need to sleep. I wanted to function 24 hours a day. (Pause) Those weren't some of my smarter days." — Snyder on his initial coaching days in the late-1960s.
"Little things are trifles; Trifles make perfection; Perfection's no trifle." — Snyder's coaching philosophy

Bill Snyder retiring

Well it was reported late tonight, nov 14th, that snyder is retiring after 17 seasons. This is nothing short of shocking to me, as even though its been a rough 2 years after coming off the best win in his career, it seemed like he had a young base to build around the next few seasons. But alas he felt its time to move on. Hopefully a successor will be named tomorrow as well. This is sad and yet somewhat exciting. Maybe it was time for a change.
Thanks for putting K-State back on the map and i'll look forward to going to many more games in what will no doubt be in the renamed Bill Snyder stadium.

in the news

Probably one of my favorite headlines of the year
Greenpeace to be fined as Rainbow Warrior damages Philippines coral reef