Legendary Snyder sparking second monumental Kansas State revivalby Stewart Mandel, cnnsi.com
But Snyder, who resurrected Kansas State from the dregs of Division I-A in 1989 and led it to three Big 12 title games and six 11-win seasons from 1997-2003, still attended Wildcats games, home and away. He watched as his once-dominant program struggled to a 17-20 record during successor Ron Prince's tenure. More disturbingly, he saw his fellow K-State community members splintering. When it came time to find Prince's replacement, the search "started and ended with [snyder]," said former K-State president Jon Wefald, who also hired Snyder the first time. "We knew he had turned our football program around in a monumental fashion," Wefald said, "so I figured, well, he could do it again."
It took some convincing, but Snyder, now 72, eventually signed on. And sure enough, he has done it again. In his third season back, the Wildcats are 7-0 and ranked No. 10 in the country heading into Saturday's home showdown with No. 11 Oklahoma (6-1). The game lost some cachet nationally when Texas Tech upset the Sooners last weekend, but it's still a plenty big deal in Manhattan, where it's been eight years since K-State won its first and only Big 12 title.
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