Kansas State will play its last game of the season Saturday against Missouri, and it will be a finale in more ways than one.
Coach Bill Snyder announced his retirement Tuesday, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.
“I’ve not been the kind of father that I should have been, and the kind of husband,” said Snyder, who has five children and eight grandchildren.
Snyder, who signed a six-year contract extension in 2001, will remain with the program as a special assistant to athletic director Tim Weiser. The 66-year-old said health was not a factor in his decision to leave.
“As far as I know, my doctor has not complained – well, he’s complained about some of my habits,” Snyder said. “But to my knowledge, I’m physically fine.”
The football stadium will be renamed Bill Snyder Family Stadium, the university said.
When Snyder took over the Wildcats’ program in 1989, Kansas State was the only major college team with 500 losses. Snyder quickly orchestrated a dramatic turnaround. He has a 135-68-1 career record in Manhattan, including a run of 11 straight bowl games that began with the 1993 season.
But after winning the Big 12 championship in 2003, the Wildcats (4-6, 1-6 Big 12) have failed to qualify for a bowl two straight years.
Licking his wounds
Washington State tight end Troy Bienemann will miss Saturday’s Apple Cup against archrival Washington after suffering a serious knee injury last week.
Bienemann tore his anterior cruciate ligament and medial meniscus during a touchdown catch in the fourth quarter of a 34-31 loss to Oregon. The senior co-captain will undergo surgery, ending his college career with 94 receptions – one short of the school record for a tight end.
“If we can get that thing healed up, hopefully we can get him in the draft,” coach Bill Doba said Sunday evening. “I know there’s some interest in him.
“It’s sad for him. I really hate to see that happen to him at the end of his career here.”
Meanwhile, star receiver Jason Hill said he plans to announce after Thanksgiving whether he will return for his senior season. Hill said Sunday he will stay with the Cougars if he’s projected below a second-round pick in the NFL draft.
He has sent tapes to the NFL’s central scouting service for an evaluation and expected draft status.
“I’m going to look at that, but I’m going to get my point of view from what coach Doba hears from teams and people have told me and hear from teams,” Hill said.
The 6-foot-2 wideout has been one of the Cougars’ most dangerous offensive options this season, reeling in 57 catches for 1,048 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Judicial review
Despite facing felony drug charges, Georgia Tech defensive back Reuben Houston was reinstated by a Fulton County judge Tuesday. Houston had been suspended from the team all season.
Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey said Houston might play as early as Saturday, when the Yellow Jackets visit No. 3 Miami. The ruling from Superior Court Judge M. Gino Brogdon shocked Georgia Tech athletic director Dave Braine, although he pledged to abide by the decision.
“I feel compelled to say that this decision will send shock waves through college athletics programs around the country,” Braine said. “Playing college football, especially at a school like Georgia Tech, is a privilege, not a right.
“We must be able to set standards of conduct for our student-athletes, and we must be able to enforce and maintain discipline.”
The 22-year-old Houston, a two-year starting cornerback with seven career interceptions, was arrested June 21, 2005, in Atlanta in connection with a marijuana distribution operation based in California. According to a criminal complaint filed in Fresno, Calif., Houston conspired to possess and distribute about 100 pounds of marijuana, which has a street value of about $60,000.
Reach Gerald Tang at [email protected]
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
