Where is Bill Snyder now?

A couple days ago, KC Star reporter Howard Richman caught up with Bill Snyder to see what he's up to these days. Apparently he's keeping pretty busy, between jet skiing and golf.

Oh yeah, and helping kids across Kansas. Between mentoring, leadership groups, promoting cancer research, and being inducted into halls of fame I'm guessing he hasn't had much time to watch much South Park.

Bill Snyder was a part of the revolution of K-State, and in doing so he proved, in my mind, what a proud sports program can do for a university. This article notes the enrollment growth at K-State during Snyder's time as coach. Obviously that was not entirely due to football, but putting a winning team on the field each fall helps. Manhattan is a college town, so it relies on K-State activities. When you add something like college football to the list of can't-miss activities, you open a huge pipeline for growth. So for the one-millionth time, thanks Coach!



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It's preseason media time for Big 12 football. That means the people who get paid to write about Big 12 football have voted on who will finish where, among other things, in the conference.

In the North, the writers predict the order of finish will be as follows:
1. Missouri
2. Nebraska
3. K-State
4. Kansas
5. Colorado
6. Iowa State
Hmm, I picked ISU over CU, but otherwise they just ripped me off. Or maybe not.

In the South...
1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas A&M
4. Oklahoma State
5. Texas Tech
6. Baylor
I predicted less for A&M and more for Okie State. But I think this is the most wide-open year in the South in a while. I could honestly see Okie State winning the South this year. There, now you all know how crazy I am.

In other prediction news, Michigan blog "Maize and Brew" has its Big 12 predictions up. Let's just say they predict a K-State-Texas showdown in San Antonio for the Big 12 title. I'd be okay with that, only about three hours from Houston to San Anton.

Of course, all these predictions that don't include Nebraska winning the North have sent Husker fans into a tizzy. I'll just say this: all three of the projected top teams in the North (Mizzou, NU, K-State) have potential upside, along with serious questions marks. Mizzou lost a lot on a defense that wasn't very good to begin with. Nebraska also has serious defensive questions (defensive line, corners and safeties), not to mention a new QB and and lack of depth at running back. K-State could have the best defense of the three if the run defense stiffens up, but the offense is a huge question. We got a glimpse of what Josh Freeman can do last year...



...and we got a glimpse of what Josh Freeman can do last year...



Of course, a lot of this depends on the offensive line. If they protect Freeman and open some holes for the running backs, we could actually score some points. If not, well, it might be last year all over again.

Either way, football's almost back. Forty-four more days til the Cats travel to Auburn for a primetime, nationally televised opener. And with that, you'll have to excuse me...