Bill Snyder signs five year contract extension with Kansas State

kansasstategamedayr | January 31, 2013 at 2:52 pm | 1 Comment

Kansas State Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder speaks during the Big 12 Championship trophy presentation after the game against the Texas Longhorns at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Kansas State won 42-24. (Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)

Bill Snyder,, the man for whom they named the stadium after at Kansas State, has signed a five-year contract extension that will keep him on as the Wildcats’ head coach through 2017, according to ESPN.

“Coach Snyder’s daily drive, focus and energy in continuing to build the K-State football program are truly remarkable and inspirational,” athletic director John Currie said in a statement. “While he is not one to focus attention on himself, President (Kirk) Schulz and I felt that it was important to recognize in this very significant way his tremendous leadership and commitment to continuing to lead the K-State football program.”

By “very significant”, Currie means very lucrative. The deal will pay the 73-year old $2.75 million to coach the 2013 season and includes a $100,000 annual raise for the life of the deal.

There are also several bonuses in the contract for regular season and bowl game success. Snyder will receive a $50,000 bonus for each bowl appearance and $100,000 for a BCS bowl. When the new playoff structure takes form in 2014, Snyder’s incentives structure will change as well. The coach will receive a $175,000 bump for leading K-State to the national semifinals, $250,000 for playing in the national title game and $300,000 for winning the whole shebang.

But wait, there’s more. Should Snyder be awarded any of the three end-of-the-year coaching awards, he will be eligible for an extra $30,000. Should the Wildcats finish in the AP top 20, there’s an extra $50,000 in it for him. A top 10 finish nets him $100,000.

The best part is, of course, the fact that a high finish will also result in a potential BCS bowl game, thus building one incentive bonus on top of another.

Snyder led the ‘Cats to 11 wins for the seventh time in school history in 2012, the program’s second Big 12 title and a Fiesta Bowl berth. He has the seventh-most wins in D-I history and three times more than any other coach in Kansas State history.

The contract is not what the man coaches for.

“As I have stated so often we came to Kansas State because of the people, stayed because of the people and returned because of the people, and that remains unchanged,” Snyder said in the statement. “We have continued to make daily improvement as a football program, and I am grateful for the opportunity to continue and will do so as long as I feel that I am having a positive impact on our university, community and football program and the young men that are involved.”

The school did not win before his arrival. When he retired for the first time four years ago, the team slid back towards irrelevance. Thus, the athletic department really wanted to prove to recruits and to Snyder himself how important it is to keep this man around.

In fact, not only does his new contract provide him with a coaching job until he is 78, but it includes a clause to make him a special assistant to the AD upon his expected retirement and the successful fulfillment of his contract — with an annual salary of $250,000.

Bill Snyder and the Kansas State Wildcats have literally agreed to a lifetime contract. Those who bleed K-State Purple would not have it any other way.