Kansas State head football coach Bill Snyder, a native of St. Joseph, Missouri, will be honored by his hometown Missouri Western State University as the Bill Snyder Pavilion will be dedicated on Thursday, July 12, on the west end of Craig Field at Spratt Memorial Stadium, the university has announced. This is according to a release from K-State Athletics.
Missouri Western’s Board of Governors unanimously approved naming the facility for Snyder, a 2015 College Football Hall of Fame inductee who is entering his 27th year at the helm of the Wildcats in 2018.
“I am so very honored to be recognized in this manner by Missouri Western, the Board of Governors and Steven L. Craig,” Snyder said. “Very thoughtful and greatly appreciated. Although I only attended the school when it was St. Joseph Junior College and for only one year, it was truly the springboard and the foundation for the entirety of my undergraduate education and through my life-long career. My sincere gratitude to those mentioned above and to the entire caring community of St. Joseph which has also favorably impacted my life.”
The pavilion was built and donated by Steven L. Craig, the benefactor for whom Craig Field and the Craig School of Business at Missouri Western are named. It was Craig who initially proposed naming the pavilion for Snyder.
“I’m very honored to have played a small part in recognizing Coach Snyder. His work at Kansas State, in turning around that program, is one of the most remarkable coaching feats in the history of college football,” Craig said. “Coach Snyder has never forgotten his humble beginnings or his hometown, St. Joseph, and has continued to give back to this community over and over again.”
“We are thrilled to be able to honor a distinguished native son of St. Joseph in this way,” said Dr. Robert Vartabedian, Missouri Western’s president. “Coach Bill Snyder is dedicated to the development of student-athletes on the field, in the classroom and in preparation for life. He truly exemplifies the best in college athletics, and I’m glad that his legacy will live on here.”
The pavilion features two different levels for hosting outdoor events, barbecue areas and an 80-foot flagpole displaying a 20-foot by 30-foot American flag. The pavilion will also feature a bronze plaque of Coach Snyder as well as a dedication to those who have served in our military.
Snyder is a member of eight Halls of Fame: the College Football Hall of Fame, Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, William Jewell Hall of Fame, Lafayette High School Hall of Fame, Austin College Athletic Hall of Fame, Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame and Kansas State Hall of Fame. He received Missouri Western’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2014.
Snyder has been active in many organizations, including Chairman of the Kansas Mentors Council and the Kansas Leadership Council, Board of Directors for Kansas Leadership Center, Board of Directors of Prairiefire Museum of Natural History, Board of Trustees for the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, Terry C. Johnson Cancer Research Center Advisory Council, Manhattan Community Foundation Board of Trustees, Kansas State University Foundation Board of Trustees and Honorary Co-Chairman of the Kansas Masonic Partnership for Life.
Snyder has also returned to St. Joseph many times for fundraisers and events supporting education and the YMCA.
After attending St. Joseph Junior College, Snyder received his B.A. from William Jewell in 1963. He earned his M.A. from Eastern New Mexico in 1965.
