as the 32nd head coach of the Kansas State University Wildcats following the 1988 season. Kansas State University: first tenure, 1989–2005 When Snyder was hired at K-State for the first time on November 24, 1988, he inherited a situation that was several times worse than the one he'd found when he arrived in Iowa with Fry. Kansas State had a cumulative record of 299–510 () in 93 years of play, which was easily the most losses of any team in Division I-A at the time. The school had been to only one bowl game (the 1982 Independence Bowl), had not won a conference title since 1934 and had enjoyed four winning seasons in the previous 54 years (including two in the previous 34 years). The program also had not won a game since October 26, 1986, going 0–26–1 in that time. Prior to Snyder's first season in 1989, Sports Illustrated published an article about Kansas State football entitled "Futility U," which labeled the school "America's most hapless team." In hopes of distancing K-State from its losing history, Snyder had art professor Tom Brookhalter create a new logo for the team's helmets, a stylized wildcat's head known as the "Powercat." Snyder won only one game in his first season, beating the recently renamed North Texas, but it was a significant win because it was K-State's first win in three seasons. The game was especially thrilling, with a touchdown pass coming on the last play of the game. In Snyder's second season, in 1990, the Wildcats improved to 5–6. The five wins posted by the team had been matched only twice in the prior 17 years at the school, in 1973 (5–6) and 1982 (6–5). The 1991 season saw another breakthrough when the Wildcats finished with a winning record of 7–4 and narrowly missed a bowl bid. It was only the second winning season at Kansas State since 1970, and the team's 4–3 conference record was only the third winning conference mark since 1934. Two years later, Snyder led the Wildcats to the 1993 Copper Bowl. It was the school's second bowl game, its first bowl win and the first of its 11 consecutive bowl appearances from 1993 to 2003—of which it won six—a streak matched by only six other teams. The 1993 season also marked the second nine-win season in school history and the team's first ranking in a final media