Wildcats pull plug on Prince

By John Hillman  |   Thursday, November 06, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Kansas State Wildcats
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Ron Prince’s head coaching tenure ended abruptly. Less than three years ago, Kansas State announced the Junction City (located under 20 miles from Manhattan) native as its replacement for Bill Snyder. On Wednesday, KSU athletic director Bob Krause confirmed Prince would not return next season.

Commentary: What caused the Wildcats to terminate Prince with three games remaining in the 2008 season? In August, Kansas State extended the head coach’s contract for two years and upped his salary by $350,000.

The former Virginia offensive coordinator, who had never held a head coaching position until taking the Kansas State job, compiled a 16-18 record prior to his firing. In his first year, Prince went 7-6 and took the Wildcats to the Texas Bowl. He also defeated No. 4 Texas in 2006 and repeated the feat in Austin last year.

But numerous complaints dogged the 39-year-old head coach. Eight assistant coaches left after Prince’s first two years on the job, and the Wildcats posted an 0-17 mark when they trailed at halftime.

High school and junior college coaches voiced loud concerns over the pulling of scholarship offers late in the recruiting period. Defensively, Kansas State struggled, allowing an average of 32 points in its last 21 games. The Wildcats lost to instate rival Kansas 52-21 last Saturday after falling behind 31 points at halftime.

Krause stated Kansas State intends to an experienced head coach before the end of the season. Many speculate the 69-year-old Snyder will come back and replace Prince. Other names in the mix include Tommy Bowden, Phil Fulmer, Dennis Franchione, Tom Amstutz and Tyrone Willingham.

Fan pulse: Wildcat football fans appeared pleased with the change. Check out some of their thoughts: http://boards.espn.go.com/boards/mb/mb?sport=ncaa&id=2306&tid=3758751&lid=7.

Injury report: Kansas State appears at full strength for its encounter with Missouri this weekend.

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About John Hillman

John Hillman graduated from Baylor University in 1974 with a BBA in accounting and earned an MBA from Baylor in 1987. He worked for accounting firms until 1982 when he became the chief financial officer for an independent insurance claims adjusting service, a position he still holds today. ...
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