MANHATTAN — Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder is one of 20 coaches across the country and four from the Big 12 Conference to be named to the watch list for the 2011 Bryant Coach of the Year Award, the award committee has announced.

 Snyder, currently the 11th-winningest active coach among FBS schools, has led Kansas State to a 7-0 record this season and a No. 8 ranking in the latest BCS standings.

Named the 32nd head football coach at Kansas State on Nov. 30, 1988, and again as the 34th on Nov. 24 2008, Snyder has amassed a 156-80-1 (.657) record during his 20-year tenure with the Wildcats, including an 86-72-1 (.538) mark in Big 8/12 games, and currently ranks fifth among active coaches with 150 or more wins at FBS schools since 1990. 

A two-time national coach of the year selection, Snyder’s 156 victories are more than triple the man in second place on K-State’s all-time coaching victories list, while the legendary head coach has led the program to 12 bowl games and has the Cats headed to their 13th under his tutelage this season. 

In December, a finalists’ list will be announced and comprised of five to 10 coaches. Finalists will attend an awards dinner on Jan. 19, 2012, in Houston, Texas, at the HYATT Regency Hotel Downtown, where the winner will be announced live. The Bryant Coach of the Year Award is the only college coaching honor voted on after all of the bowl games are concluded. 

January’s event will also recognize former University of Iowa Head Football Coach Hayden Fry, who will receive the Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes excellence in coaching on and off the field during a career, allowing recipients to take their place in history alongside legends such as Paul “Bear” Bryant. Recent Lifetime Achievement recipients include Barry Switzer, Glenn “Bo” Schembechler, and Bobby Bowden.