• K-State's TE coach
• Home On The Range
• The Silver Eagle
• Copper Bowl Clock
• Big 12 Legends
• Family First
K-State's TE coachHome On The RangeThe Silver EagleCopper Bowl ClockBig 12 LegendsFamily First

Kansas State has always had a special relationship with Fort Riley, the U.S. Army base that sits between Junction City and Manhattan. On many afternoons while Snyder is leading his team in practice, you can hear the Big Red One, the nation's oldest continuously serving division in the Army, going through drills and the tank blasts often rattle the walls in Snyder's office.

That special relationship also carries over to Snyder's program. This past summer, 121 K-State players hopped on buses before dawn and joined the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment for morning PT on a two-mile course that included bear crawls, lunges, sit-ups, squats and burpees.

"The military embodies all the good things with America," Snyder said. "When we moved here to Kansas State and being so close to Fort Riley, we wanted it to be a big part of our program."

There's further evidence of Snyder's appreciation on one of his office walls. That's where you'll find a Silver Eagle award he received from the military and pictures of B-52 he got an opportunity take a ride in a while back.

"We had connection with Fort McConnell Air Force Base and with the Air National Guard in Topeka," Snyder said. "They took me a flight out to Western Kansas in a B-52. We refueled one of those stealth jets. It was really an amazing experience.

"You have these jets and these B-52s are flying what appears to 30 feet above the plane it's going to refuel. Then they let the hose out and it attaches in midair and you look how close you are and you think about what happens if they hit an air pocket. The skill and dedication that it takes to do that really impresses an old football coach like me."