Bill Snyder: They Said It Couldn't Be Done [Hardcover]

Mark Janssen (Author), Bill Snyder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

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 Snyder: 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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Janssen has been in the middle of Kansas State Wildcat athletics for the better part of four decades. He has been sports editor of The Manhattan Mercury since 1981, winning six national writing awards from the National Newspaper Association, and eight first-place honors from the Kansas Press Association. Graduating from K-State in 1972, Janssen served as sports director of KMAN-KMKF Radio in Manhattan, earning Sportscaster of the Year honors in 1977 and 1978. He worked alongside the legendary Voice of the Wildcats, Dev Nelson, on the K-State Radio Network, plus hosted several coaches’ television shows. In the first 17 years of Janssen’s coverage of K-State football, the Wildcats went 46-130-3 under four different coaches. In the last 17 years of Janssen’s coverage under Coach Bill Snyder, the Wildcats’ record was 136-68-1. Janssen resides in Manhattan with his wife, Peg. They have two children, Travis and Kelly.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: KCI Sports Publishing (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975876961
• ISBN-13: 978-0975876961
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing........, June 23, 2006

By 

Patricia Carter "king" (Portland, Maine) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bill Snyder: They Said It Couldn't Be Done (Hardcover)

What Bill Snyder did at Kansas State is easily, the greatest coaching job, in any sport, at any time, EVER......

Beyond belief is the only way I can even start to describe how BAD Kansas State football was before Snyder took over.

Bill Snyder is maybe the greatest coach of all-time, in any sport. This book should be required reading for ALL business leaders and employees in America. Follow Snyder's steps to success, and apply them to your own life, and you CANNOT fail. Total comittment, goal setting, respect, loyalty, persistence, serious organization, and believing in others, are key components to Snyder's winning formula. The man worked 100 hour weeks, 12 months a year to make this miracle a reality. It's amazing, and it's true......

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Some great stuff outweighed by a lot of fluff, December 14, 2008

By 

Roberto H "Lover of libros" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bill Snyder: They Said It Couldn't Be Done (Hardcover)

The most useful parts of this book are the ones that explain how Bill Snyder shaped the psyche and ethos of the K-State program. From changing the uniforms and logo to convincing the players they could actually win, his work was truly magnificent.

Details of Snyder's accomplishment are extremely worth the reading; however, to pan out these golden nuggets, the reader must wade through a lot of inconsequential filler. The book is partially a shout out to all of Snyder's favorite players and he spends a lot of time honoring them. This is a nice gesture but a waste of time for anyone who isn't a former player or a hard-core K-State fan. Furthermore, the biographical chapters are pretty dry.

I recommend this book to coaches or business leaders seeking a radical team/organization turnaround just as long as they're aware of the need to skip big chunks of it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bill Snyder's Book, September 27, 2007

By 

Jim Krob (Hays, Kansas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bill Snyder: They Said It Couldn't Be Done (Hardcover)

Excellent book - easy reading as it chronicles his "miracle in Manhattan." A must reading for every Wildcat fan and great material for young and/or aspiring coaches to see "that it can be done!"