Bill Snyder built his Empire in the Flint Hills, in no small part, by utilizing an inefficiency in recruiting. While he may not have consistently brought in the highest profile high school recruit, he was able to fill holes, and in some cases, build his roster, utilizing junior college transfers. The Jayhawk League was, in some respects, a minor league farm system for the Wildcats.
Somewhere along the line, other schools caught on, and the inefficiency in the JuCo recruiting world disappeared. Recruiting top JuCo players was similar to recruiting top high school players. The competition was fierce, and Kansas State was no longer ordering off the top of the menu.