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Kansas State Wildcats

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Powercat
Powercat

Kansas State University's athletic teams are called the Wildcats, and their colors are royal purple and white, though silver is sometimes substituted. Kansas State participates in the NCAA's Division 1A and in the Big 12 Conference. Sports sponsored by the university include football, basketball, cross country and track, baseball, golf, tennis (women's), rowing (women's), equestrian (women's), and volleyball (women's).

Kansas State competed in the Missouri Valley Conference from 1913 to 1928; the Big Six Conference from 1928 to 1947; the Big Seven Conference from 1947 to 1958; the Big Eight Conference from 1958 to 1996, and is now a member of the Big 12 Conference. Entering the 2005-2006 school year, Kansas State has captured 54 total conference championships through the years.


Administration

Athletic Directors of note at Kansas State University include:

Z.G. Clevenger (1916-1920); first Athletic Director, member of College Football Hall of Fame
Mike Ahearn (1920-1947); considered "Father of Kansas State Athletics"
H.B. "Bebe" Lee (1956-1969); member of National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame
Ernie Barrett (1969-1975); known as "Mr. K-State"
DeLoss Dodds (1978-1981)
Tim Weiser (2001-present)

Basketball

Rolando Blackman shooting down Oregon State on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1981

The baskeball teams currently play in Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas.

Men's basketball

Kansas State's men's basketball team began competition in 1902. The program has a long history of success. The first two conference titles captured by the school were won in the sport, in 1917 and 1919. Kansas State has gone on to capture 17 conference crowns in the sport.

Through the years the team earned the right to participate in 22 NCAA basketball tournaments. Kansas State's best finish at the tournament came in 1951, when it played the University of Kentucky for the national championship. The school has reached the Final Four four times, the Elite Eight 11 times, and the Sweet Sixteen 16 times. Included among K-State's tournament wins are some all-time classics, including a 50-48 win over second-ranked Oregon State University in 1981, and a 83-80 win over Oscar Robertson's University of Cincinnati team in 1958, which Sports Illustrated called "the game of the year."

The best season in the school's history may have been 1959, when the team finished the season ranked Number 1 in the Associated Press poll. K-State has finished ranked in the Top Ten of the poll on six other occasions, and in the top twenty twelve total times. The team has also posted a winning record at home every year since 1946. K-State's biggest rivalry in basketball is with the University of Kansas.

A number of notable and successful coaches have led the Wildcats through the years. The most successful are:

Women's basketball

Kansas State's women's basketball team began intercollegiate competition in 1968. The team is among the top 15 all-time winningest programs in the NCAA.

The women's team has participated in 14 total NCAA basketball tournaments and AIAW tournaments (pre-NCAA). It has reached the Sweet Sixteen 9 times and Elite Eight twice. K-State has finished ranked in the Top Ten of the Associated Press poll on three occasions (1984, 2003, 2004), and in the top twenty nine total times. Following the 2005-2006 season, Kansas State was crowned champion of the Women's National Invitation Tournament.

Football

The team currently plays in Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas.

The football team began play in 1893. The program had some shining moments in the 1920s and 1930s, including a Big Six Conference championship in 1934. Nevertheless, Kansas State was historically the worst program in the NCAA until 1989, when the athletic department hired Bill Snyder as head coach. Snyder instilled faith and self-esteem in the remaining players, recruited heavily and demanded expanded exercise facilities and equipment.

In Bill Snyder's fifth season at the helm, in 1993, Kansas State posted the first victory in a bowl game in school history. Success and high rankings continued over the next decade, including six top-ten finishes in the AP poll and a perfect (11-0) regular season in 1998. As the team improved, recruiting also improved, and Snyder was able to bring in athletes such as quarterback Michael Bishop, the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1998, and running back Darren Sproles, who led the nation in rushing in 2003. The run of success culminated in a Big 12 Conference championship in 2003. Snyder retired following the 2005 season, and on December 5, 2005, Ron Prince was named the new head coach. Prince was formerly an assistant coach and offensive line coach at the University of Virginia.

The winning attitude under former coach Snyder was represented by a stylized wildcat, called the "Powercat" (shown at top), that was added to the football team's uniforms in 1989. The emblem became so popular that by the late 1990s it had virtually replaced "Willie the Wildcat," a character designed by art department students in the late 1950s.

Bowl games

Under Bill Snyder, K-State compiled a streak of 11 straight bowl game appearances, which was snapped in the 2004 season. The school's overall record in bowl games is 6-6.


Date Result Bowl Opponent Score
12-11-1982 L Independence BowlFile:IndependenceBowlLogo.png University of Wisconsin File:Bucky.gif 3 – 14
12-29-1993 W Copper Bowl University of Wyoming File:Wyoming cowboys.gif 52 – 7
12-25-1994 L Aloha Bowl File:Alohabowllogo.jpg Boston College File:Bc-lg.png 7 – 12
12-29-1995 W Holiday Bowl Colorado State University 54 – 21
1-1-1997 L Cotton Bowl Brigham Young University File:BYU Logo 1969-1998.gif 15 – 19
12-31-1997 W Fiesta Bowl File:Fiesta 02.jpg Syracuse University File:Su logo.jpg 35 – 18
12-29-1998 L Alamo Bowl Purdue University File:PurdueSpiritMark.jpg 34 – 37
12-29-1999 W Holiday Bowl University of Washington File:UW logo.gif 24 – 20
1-1-2001 W Cotton Bowl University of Tennessee File:TennesseeVolunteers 100.png 35 – 21
12-29-2001 L Insight.com Bowl Syracuse University File:Su logo.jpg 3 – 26
12-27-2002 W Holiday Bowl Arizona State University File:Arizona-state-sund.gif 34 – 27
12-27-2003 L Fiesta Bowl File:Fiesta 02.jpg Ohio State University File:Logo OhioStateBuckeyes1.jpg 28 – 35

Track and field

Kansas State began competing in track and field in 1904.

In the first 100 years of the program (through the end of the 2004-2005 season), 30 K-State athletes have won individual NCAA national championships. The program also produced 104 women's outdoor All-Americans, 63 men's outdoor All-Americans, 64 women's indoor All-Americans, and 81 men's indoor All-Americans. Thirteen athletes have attended 18 Olympics and have won seven medals.

Legendary coach Ward Haylett, who is enshrined in the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, left a strong imprint on the Kansas State program. He was head coach at the school from 1928-1963.

Volleyball

The team currently plays in Ahearn Fieldhouse in Manhattan, Kansas.

Kansas State's women's volleyball team began intercollegiate competition in 1974. The team is among the all-time winningest programs in the NCAA.

Entering the 2006 season, the team has participated in 10 consecutive NCAA tournaments. K-State also participated in the AIAW tournament in 1977. K-State has finished ranked in the top twenty of the AVCA poll four times, and in the top 25 nine of the last ten years.

Notable alumni and former athletes

File:Willie wildcat.gif
Willie the Wildcat

Baseball

Basketball

Football

Golf

Track and field

Wildcat Nation Go Powercat

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