Coach Bill Snyder to Headline Annual NAIA Champions of Character® Awards Luncheon
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced that former Kansas State Football Coach Bill Snyder will headline the 2020 NAIA Champions of Character Awards and Virtual Fundraiser, set for June 24.
The legendary coach will serve as the keynote speaker in the annual event, which has seen some of the top names in college and pro sports such as Tom Osborne (Former University of Nebraska Head Coach), Tom Watson (World Golf Hall of Famer), Jay Bilas (ESPN Basketball Analyst), Tamika Catchings (Vice President of Basketball Operations, Indiana Fever) and Dayton Moore (Kansas City Royals General Manager), to name a few.
Coach Snyder is known for his commitment to building character in his players both on and off the field, and it is this commitment that has helped to propel his legendary career at Kansas State.
Coach Snyder, whom is the winningest coach in Kansas State Football history, retired as the 20th winningest coach in Football Bowl Series (FBS) history and ranks second among active FBS coaches in wins. The Throughout his time, he amassed a 215-117-1 record with the Wildcats and became widely known as one of the top coaches in the nation, year-in and year-out.
Coach Snyder created a winning culture in Manhattan, Kan., which has direct ties to the increase in enrollment from 18,120 when he was hired to now more than 24,000. This culture spilled over to the K-State Alumni base and supporters and helped to rekindle school pride from coast-to-coast, and especially in the region.
Just three years removed from inheriting a team that was on an 0-26-1 stretch, Coach Snyder went to work to re-build the program in Manhattan. In his third year in 1991, he led the team to a 7-4 record to give the team its second winning season since 1970, helping to earn him ESPN National Coach of the Year honors.
All totaled in his time at Kansas State, Coach Snyder led the Wildcats to 19 bowl appearances, 11 winning seasons, four Big 12 North Division titles, two national No. 1 rankings, coached student-athletes to a total of 214 All-America honors, 13 CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, was a five-time national coach of the year and seven time conference coach of the year. Additionally, he became the fourth active coach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (2015) and is set to receive the 2020 Paul “Bear” Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Memorial Hermann Health System, in October.
The Champions of Character Foundation was established by the NAIA to impact the lives of student-athletes through sport and to reward those that keep as a vital part of their athletics experience. For information on tickets to attend the Champions of Character Foundation Awards and Virtual Fundraiser to see Coach Snyder, go to NAIA.org/COCLuncheon.
For more information on the Champions of Character Foundation Awards and Virtual Fundraiser, go to NAIA.org/COCLuncheon