There is nothing new about Bob Stoops matching coaching wits with old mentor and boss Bill Snyder. They've done plenty of that over the years in Big 12 cross-divisional play.
But that doesn't mean Stoops isn't a little surprised to see Snyder, 70, back on the Wildcats sideline. The longtime Kansas State coach retired four years ago to pursue opportunities outside coaching, but was lured out of retirement last winter.
Stoops, whose 22nd-ranked Sooners host the Wildcats on Saturday, admits it's a little unexpected to be going up against his old boss again, but he was stunned when Snyder was no longer there, too.
Should Kansas State coach Bill Snyder go searching for a sure sign college football hasn't stood still in his brief retirement, all he has to do is look at "this Blackberry thing" that is usually attached to his hip.
For a coach who can remember when handwritten letters were the must-have tools of recruiting, Snyder's newly issued BlackBerry seems to always be vibrating or making a noise or doing both. In the morning when Snyder awakens. In the evening when he's ready to turn in.
Sometimes, the 69-year-old coach can't help but feel like a victim of information overload.
As more an more details come out about the alleged secret deferred payment deal struck between Kansas State and former head football coach Ron Prince, the Wildcats look more and more petty.
No one is denying former KSU athletic director Bob Krause and Prince agreed to a deferred compensation package that would pay the coach $3.2 million from 2015-20. But the University filed a lawsuit in May, arguing against the validity of the deal because it didn't go through the proper channels.
Now Prince and his attorney have filed a $3 million lawsuit against KSU seeking punitive damages for this whole mess.
It seems former Kansas State football coach Ron Prince and former athletic director Bob Krause struck a "secret" side deal last summer the school is now trying to get out of, according to a lawsuit filed by the university.
In addition to a five-year contract extension in August 2008 that paid Prince $1.1 million annually, the two apparently brokered a $3.2 million deal that would be broken up in payments between 2015 and 2020 that no one else in the athletic administration or anywhere else on campus knew about. Prince was forced to resign a few months later. Under the official contract, Prince is owed a $1.2 million buyout. That figure could jump to $4.4 million if Kansas State is forced to pay the secret contract between Prince and Krause.
The school has filed suit to fight the $3.2 million payment.
As the coaching carousel keeps turning, the newly-available Ty Willingham might be expected to be bitter. After all, his record at Notre Dame was essentially the same as Charlie Weis' after three seasons. Yet Willingham got the gate from the Domers, while Weis got the dreaded vote of confidence from his athletic director this week. You wouldn't blame Willingham if all of a sudden he started talking like Yosemite Sam with a habanero seed stuck in his throat. Gibbering, barely coherent anger would seem to be an appropriate response to such a regrettable circumstance.
"It's not just my issue, it's a college football issue - we have to give coaches a chance to do their job," Willingham said Thursday from Seattle, where he recently was fired as the University of Washington's coach after four seasons, the last of them winless.
"Because now we have coaches ... especially some of the minority coaches ... they are losing their jobs after 2 1/2 years. That's not right."
After years of pressure from academics and university presidents, the NCAA began to increase penalties for failing to meet academic standards with the Academic Progress Rate (APR). The fallout from such standards, just might be trickling down to coaches, especially in the Big 12.
"It's a big deal now," said Nebraska senior linebacker Tyler Wortman. "We have people checking on everybody, making sure you're in class."
It's common to see members of Nebraska's academic support staff -- and sometimes even Pelini himself -- making the rounds on campus to make sure players are in class.
Academics have always been important at Nebraska, which boasts a nation-leading total of 255 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans. Pelini, however, appears to be ramping up the accountability for student-athletes. And it's hard to argue with Pelini's bottom-line:
"It's not up for debate," Pelini said. "If you don't want to go to class, turn pro."
My Bloglines reader picks up anything on YouTube with the tags "Kansas + State + Football". Sometimes I wish it didn't. The video below, well ... yeah.
There's a narrative in there somewhere, but I'm still trying to piece it all together while fitting the eyeballs back into their sockets. I'm a sucker for this kind of insanely weird stuff (Badger Badger Badger and Hyakugojyuuichi!!! come to mind), but never have I seen it introduced into the college football world.
Anyway, video below with the warning to avoid it if you or family members are epileptic or prone to seizures. And/or are offended or allergic to pictures of Ron Prince. Lots of them.
Kansas State takes an interesting approach to deciding the rosters for its spring game. The two squads are selected via a draft, which is overseen by head coach Ron Prince. This year Josh Freeman was the first pick in the Purple-White scrimmage draft, after offensive coordinator James Franklin won the coin toss. The second selection was then linebacker Rob Jackson, who was chosen by defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar.
Freeman as the first pick seems like a no-brainer, given that his coach has recently compared him to JaMarcus Russell, who could go #1 overall in the NFL draft. His selection also made sense given the lack of experience behind him. In fact, neither of the other two QBs on the Wildcat roster has even attempted a pass at KSU. One of the backups is Caleb Smith, a 6-foot-2 junior-college transfer from Garden City Community College, who apparently was originally listed as a long snapper on the spring roster. Ouch. The other is freshman Carson Coffman, who, um ... doesn't exactly look the part. Due the lack of the depth, Prince notes that the QBs will be protected in some way during the game.
I like the idea of holding a draft to decide the spring game rosters, and Kansas State is not the only Big 12 team to utilize this method. Texas A&M also held a draft to decide its Maroon-White rosters. Generally these games are nothing more than public scrimmages, so why not have a little fun with them? If nothing else, it certainly beats watching your first-teamers walk all over the backups.
During the Bill Snyder period, Kansas State earned a reputation as the king of cupcake schedules. Snyder's development of the Wildcat program from laughing stock to annual bowl trips and respectability was due in part to schedules littered with the likes of Western Kentucky, Louisian-Monroe and McNeese State.
But as year two of the Ron Prince era begins, we are beginning to see a move away from that philosophy. A year ago Kansas State hosted Louisville, in a game that was scheduled after Prince's arrival in Manhattan. In 2007, the Wildcats will begin their season with a trip to Auburn and end it with a November 24th visit to Fresno State, where the Bulldogs consistently give big programs fits. Head coach Ron Prince is excited about both contests.
"It's an opportunity for us to play on both coasts in major markets," he [head coach Ron Prince] said. The Auburn game will be very well covered. The Fresno game, they're going to be back to the top of their game this year. So that will give us exposure on the West Coast. So from a standpoint of getting out the message about Kansas State and having our logo behind those talking heads on television, that's what this is about."
I applaud the Wildcats for strengthening their schedule. But fans might wonder if they have scheduled themselves out of a bowl game. In addition to the games at Auburn and Fresno State, Kansas State also travels to Texas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Nebraska in 2007. Unless we see a much-improved Wildcat squad their bowl hopes just might hinge on that season finale in Fresno.
"It's neck and neck," Prince said. "It's not one guy working to beat out the other, but they are pushing each other in performance. When you watch tape, it's real hard knowing the difference between how No. 8 [Johnson] is doing and No. 9 [Patton] is doing."
Patton is the smaller and more agile back in the mold of former Wildcat Darren Sproles. He started three games and rushed for 609 yards and six touchdowns during an impressive freshman campaign in 2006. Johnson, a 5-11, 200-pound senior, seems a bit more durable. He started the last five games and accumulated 403 yards rushing and two touchdowns a year ago. Coach Prince seems to appreciate the increased competition this spring. He's also in no hurry to name a starter and plans on using them both.
"I really don't know which one is better," Prince said. "They are both doing some terrific things in terms of ball security and route running."
The Wildcat coach added, "I don't see it changing much. I like to play two running backs. And, I'd like to have a third guy come in as a change up. Who that third guy is, I don't know." If either back can get the Wildcat running game going, it will help take the pressure off sophomore quarterback Josh Freeman who had six touchdowns and 15 interceptions in 2006.
There is nothing new about Bob Stoops matching coaching wits with old mentor and boss Bill Snyder. They've done plenty of that over the years in Big 12 cross-divisional play.
Should Kansas State coach 
As more an more details come out about the alleged secret deferred payment deal struck between 
It seems former Kansas State football coach 
As the 
After years of pressure from academics and university presidents, the NCAA began to increase penalties for failing to meet academic standards 
Kansas State takes an interesting approach to deciding the rosters for its spring game. The two squads are selected via a draft, which is overseen by head coach Ron Prince. This year 
Kansas State head coach 
