Bill Snyder

My Football Life and the Rest of the Story

By: Bill Snyder, D. Scott Fritchen

Narrated by: Chris Henry Coffey

Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

"The opportunity for the greatest turnaround in college football exists here today, and it’s not one to be taken lightly.” (Bill Snyder)

A captivating autobiography from the architect of Kansas State football

When Kansas State hired Bill Snyder as its head football coach in 1988, the Wildcats had one of the worst programs in college football and hadn't won a conference title since 1934. Little could anybody predict that Snyder would soon engineer a total transformation in Manhattan, Kansas.

From his humble beginnings in St. Joseph, Missouri, Snyder rose to greatness, bringing K-State up from the ashes to a number one ranking, six 11-win seasons in a span of seven years, and one Big 12 Championship. He still wasn’t finished. After a three-year retirement, Snyder returned to lead the Wildcats to another Big 12 title.

In 2015, he became just the fourth person in college football history to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as an active coach. In this new memoir, Snyder reflects on a successful yet complicated life, detailing the grueling 80-hour work weeks, his visionary Wildcat Goals for Success, and the virtues he doubled down on during his final years as head coach, all the while battling throat cancer.

Listeners will discover a multi-faceted portrait of one of college football's greatest leaders, his triumphs and defeats, his greatness and his flaws, and his passion and drive to, not once, but twice, lead a championship team while developing young men.

©2021 Bill Snyder (P)2021 Recorded Books

This book has made me a better fan of football and brought me to tears

I am a fourth generation K-State wildcat fan and currently attend K-State. So I may be a little biased. But I have very strong memories of going to K-State football games and events. There were many years that going to a Bowl game was our family vacation. My dad even named my parents first dog after Moses’s wife after Bill Snyder “spilt the Red Sea” at Nebraska. As a kid I remember watching the banner fall down on the day they renamed the football stadium to Bill Snyder Family Stadium. And many of the games that he talks about in his book I remember watching in my seat in section 6, row 11, seats 20 and 19.
Reading this book has given me such an insight of what football coaches go through the entire year and football season. I am just blown away from the hard work and personal challenges that he has worked through. I have always thought as Bill as Manhattan’s town grandpa and best supporter but now I know that is true. I was so touched by this book and the lovely things his children said that it brought me to tears. To things that this man’s accomplishments has brought me and my family so many awesome memories and brought us closer together over K-State football.

So inspiring and truly puts into perspective how amazing of a man Coach Snyder is

I truly loved this audiobook. Bill Snyder put a lot of time and thought into this book and it shows because of the quality of the product. You can’t help but think that this man truly is a national treasure. He cares about the university, the state of Kansas, and his family so deeply that you want to follow his example. His determination and work ethic is beyond belief. Personally I wouldn’t have blamed him for leaving kstate after the bigger colleges started to offer but he stayed. I know he is beloved by kstate but I really wish the whole country knew how special he is. The man took over a football program that the university was about to give up on and turned it into a national power. I could not recommend this book more to anyone. Maybe you have to be a football fan to truly appreciate it but even if you are not you could definitely appreciate the wholesome content when he talks about his family, friends, and his care towards his community at large.

Great book. Reader needs to do work.

I loved this book. Bill at his best. The reader was bad. Very bad because he did not do his research and mispronounced numerous names in the book. And not just random names. Names of major people apart of the story. He should redo those parts because any fan will pick up on it right away.

Great football and life story

Great story of Coach Snyder and KSU. Fantastic football and life story. Great memories and additional insights for a K-State grad and fan.

Outstanding man and story

Inspiring “read”. Worth anyone’s time. Ironically for a story by and about a person so meticulous about perfection, the narrator’s mispronunciation of many names (very common sports names at that) is highly unfortunate.

Boring

I should’ve just googled every Kansas State box score, had I done that there would’ve been zero reason to read this book. Bill Snyder is a great man and s great coach, just not a great author.

Good ideas but should’ve been more focused

Good story but I would have liked it if it was more focused on how he turned around Kansas St and some of the hardships each year rather than stats. Narrator mispronounced several names.

Difficult to finish

I would only suggest this book to Kansas State fans that want a VERY thorough recount of the scores and statistics of the football program at Kansas State under Bill Snyder.

There are a few good points that coaches or leaders would benefit from, but they could have been covered in about an hour.

The narrator is terrible and makes the book drag on and on. I had to listen at 1.5-2x speed, which was an improvement over his normal slow and annoying voice.