Bill Snyder came to Kansas State 30 years ago last week for a salary of $85,000 to take over a program that had a 27-game winless streak, four winning seasons in the previous 52 years, few players and fewer hopes. He leaves with 215 victories, a College Football Hall of Fame career and the respect of the entire sport.
We know that college football will continue without Snyder. It has already done so once. Snyder left after the 2005 season, already a legend for having transformed Manhattan, Kansas, from an outpost to a winning outpost. The program floundered for three seasons without him; Snyder returned in 2009 and in three years had the Wildcats winning again.