Bill Snyder: They Said It Couldn't Be Done

by Mark Janssen, Bill Snyder

When Bill Snyder arrived as head football coach at Kansas State University prior to the 1989 season, he inherited the worst NCAA Division I football program on planet Earth. In 93 previous seasons, the Wildcat football record was a miserable 299-510-40. The program had earned exactly one league title, that coming in 1934, well before Snyder was born. In the years just prior to Snyder’s arrival, the Wildcats had slumped to their worst, even by K-State standards. The program had lost 13 games in a row, and except for one tie, and had not rung the victory bell in 27 games. Seventeen years later, Snyder’s orchestration of the greatest turnaround in college football history defines the American dream of achieving the unimaginable. This is his story, from Bill Snyder’s unique viewpoint, of the process by which he helped transform a program considered the laughingstock of college football into one that won 136 games over seventeen years including eleven bowl appearances and seven seasons of at least ten wins. It’s also the story of Snyder’s own triumphant journey, one that forced him at a young age to deal with his own lack of discipline and academic shortcomings in a single-parent family, one that saw him climb to the top of big-time college football, and one that ultimately brought him face-to-face with the toughest decision of his life. Bill They Said It Couldn't Be Done captures, in Snyder’s candid, upfront style, the action behind the scenes in running a major college football program, the strategies employed by early K-State coaches to change the culture of losing that had permeated an entire university, and the magic with which Snyder pulled off the Miracle in Manhattan.

Genres: Biography, Sports

248 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2006

Reviews

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that covers the life of Bill Snyder and what he had to go through as a youngster and how tough coaching can be. After Bob Huggins actions, makes you really appreciate Bill.

[Edmund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about the life of Coach Snyder and the philosophies that helped him guide the Kansas State Wildcats to the greatest turnaround in college football history.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I already knew what Bill Snyder did and has done for Kansas State Wildcats football in his two terms there (1989-2005 and 2009 to the present) before I ordered this book. But this book helped me appreciate even more what Snyder was able to inject into the Kansas State football program during his first term there.

Any coach or athletic director whose goal is to rebuild or start up a sports program, should read this book or at least try to talk to Bill Snyder personally.

Kansas State was a serious laughingstock before Snyder got there, and they actually still were a laughingstock during his first season there in 1989 (his first team went 1-10). But he and his coaching staff evaluated what went wrong in 1989 and vowed to get better in 1990 and thereafter.

Snyder, his assistants, and the players he recruited over the years in his first term not only gave the Wildcat program credibility, but those three entities gave the KSU program a sense that the program belonged in Division 1-A football and they could compete in that division.

Pros of this book: Like I said before, reading this book can bring you back full circle on why Snyder was such a vital hire for the KSU program back in 1989.

Cons of this book: Would have liked more detail on his 17 seasons at KSU, other than scores or mentions of his best or most well known players.

In conclusion, if you want to educate yourself on how to rebuild or structure a sports program that can emit success, then you should read this book cover to cover.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally signed copy. They said it couldn't be done but Bill did it!

[Reader John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book the best rating because of the tremendous respect I have for Bill Snyder. It is one of the most compelling stories out there. His football success is legendary but, more importantly, is his process for success in all aspects of life. He is truly a remarkable man who has contributed immensely to the betterment of his family, his profession, his university, his community, his state, and his fellow human beings. I must confess I am a University of Kansas fan and suffered through way too many humiliating losses during Bill Snyder's tenure as K-State's coach.

[N L · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a decent book. Provides a greater look into Coach Bill Synder and his philosophy. It can get very stat heavy at times but provides an interesting snapshot into how Coach Bill Snyder thought right after his first retirement.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked learning about my alma mater's head coach but I didn't like the style the book was written in. Kind of jumps around a bit and the paragraphs are all like 2-3 sentences making it feel very choppy.

[David K · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great stort, but the whole thing reads like a newspaper article. This makes sense as the writer is a newspaper columnist, but it does feel a little choppy in moving through the story.