Bill Snyder Will Return as Kansas State Head Coach: Latest Comments, Reaction

Bill Snyder will return as Kansas State head football coach for the 2016 season, the school announced in a release Monday.

“Following our bowl game against Arkansas, I had a chance to visit with my family, and they collectively wanted me to do what I wanted to do and none were against my decision to return as long as I am having a positive impact on the young people in our program, my health is in order and as long as I am wanted by the University and the wonderful Kansas State fanbase,” Snyder said.

Snyder, 76, led the Wildcats to a 6-7 record in 2015, which concluded with a Liberty Bowl loss to Arkansas.

The veteran coach is in his second stint at Kansas State, having returned to the program following a three-year retirement in 2009. The Wildcats have earned six straight bowl appearances, including a run to the 2012 Fiesta Bowl. While Snyder is 1-5 in those bowl games, Kansas State has managed to stay ranked at the end of the season on three different occasions.

“We are all grateful for the incredible leadership of Coach Snyder, and I was delighted when he affirmed to me that he plans to continue,” athletic director John Currie said. “We look forward to him leading the Wildcats into Palo Alto for our 2016 opener on September 2.”

Snyder, who previously coached at Kansas State from 1989 to his 2005 retirement, has posted a 193-101-1 record overall. The program has finished inside the Top 10 five times under his leadership and won two conference titles. In the three-year break when Snyder was not the coach, Ron Prince went a combined 17-20 and made only one bowl appearance.

Snyder's lengthy career seemed to have a natural stopping point in 2015, though, as he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. With the program righted from the ills of the Prince era, it would have been understandable if Snyder looked at his 6-7 team and decided to walk away for a second time.

It's clear based on Monday's announcement that not even a Hall of Fame plaque can eliminate Snyder's passion.

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