MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — Kansas State outscores Georgia 12-2 in the final 6:11 to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs 56-51 on Saturday in Bramlage Coliseum in the annual challenge between teams from the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12.

It was a ground out affair for the Wildcats (16-5) who were held well below their season average 77.1 points per contest. Dean Wade led Kansas State with 20 points on 7 of 17 shooting including hitting some clutch second-half baskets down the stretch to help extend the Wildcats lead.

Georgia (12-8) was led in scoring by Yante Maten with 14 points on 6-11 shooting.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – A pair of three-year letterwinners for Kansas State in the late 1960s who each played in the NFL, former Wildcats Bill Butler and Art Strozier have passed away. Butler passed away earlier this week at the age of 67 in Manhattan, while Strozier died at the age of 71 on January 14 in Kansas City.

Butler played running back for the Wildcats from 1969-71 and rushed for 1,400 career yards, one of 30 players in school history to top the 1,000-yard mark. He went on to play three seasons with the New Orleans Saints before medically retiring from the NFL. He moved back to Manhattan and worked at McCall Pattern Company while also starting Showroom Shine Auto Detailing.

One of his survivors, son, Matt, played linebacker for the Wildcats in the early 2000s and was a member of the 2003 Big 12 Championship squad.

Memorial contributions for Butler may be made to either Purple PAWS or the T. Russell Reitz Animal Shelter. Contributions may be left in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home in Manhattan.

Strozier was a tight end for the Wildcats from 1965-67, hauling in 36 passes for 458 yards and two touchdowns. He went on to play two seasons for the San Diego Chargers. One of his nephews, Noah, played for the Wildcats in the mid 2000s.

– k-statesports.com –

Kansas State University, the nation’s first operational land-grant institution and a Carnegie Foundation Tier One university, is recognized as one of the nation’s best colleges with world-class research and academic excellence located in America’s No. 1 College Town (Manhattan, KS).

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RYAN LACKEY
Asst. Director/Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State Athletics is offering a Hoops & Hops young alumni ticket package, that includes a game ticket and a pregame beer tasting event, for the Texas Tech men’s basketball game on Saturday, February 10.

Young alumni can purchase the package for just $30, which features a pregame beer tasting from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in the West Stadium Center Theede Club and includes three pints, food and games. The first 200 orders will also receive a free K-State mini tasting glass. The event is presented in partnership with Flint Hills Beverage and will include tastings from Kona, New Belgium and Sierra Nevada Brewing companies.

Tipoff between the Wildcats and Red Raiders is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum.

The deadline for young alumni to purchase the Hoops & Hops game ticket package is Thursday, Feb. 8.

– www.k-statesports.com —

TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics
Men’s Basketball Contact

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head football coach Bill Snyder announced Wednesday that wide receivers coach Andre Coleman has been promoted to Offensive Coordinator, while offensive line coach Charlie Dickey and quarterbacks coach Collin Klein have been named co-coordinators. Dickey will coordinate the running game, while Klein will coordinate the passing game.

Coleman, a former K-State wide receiver, has tutored the Wildcat wideouts since 2013 and was elevated to Pass Game Coordinator prior to the 2016 season. Dickey was an original staff member of Snyder’s second tenure in 2009, coaching the offensive line, and he was promoted to Run Game Coordinator prior to the 2016 campaign. Klein will begin his second season tutoring the quarterbacks in 2018.

“We are fortunate to have three coaches who have had so much experience in our offense – a total of about 30 years – both past and present,” Snyder said. “We’ve been blessed to have so many loyal, caring and effective coaches over the years, and these three exemplify those values. I have been pleased with how well these three have worked together.”

A four-year letterwinner at wide receiver under Snyder from 1990-93, Coleman coached a position group that recorded the most receptions and yards ever by a Snyder-led team in 2013 before shattering both those marks in 2014 with 230 receptions for 3,097 yards. That group was headlined by Tyler Lockett, an All-American in 2014 who left K-State as the all-time leader in career receptions (249), yards (3,710) and touchdowns (29), just three of the 17 school records he set in his four-year career thanks in part to Coleman’s teachings.

More recently, Byron Pringle finished his two-year career in 2017 under Coleman after becoming the 30th Wildcat and the seventh former community-college player to top 1,000 career receiving yards. The Tampa, Florida, native set the school record for single-season yards per catch (24.13) in 2017 – a mark that ranked third nationally – while his career mark of 19.64 yards per catch ranks second in K-State history.

Dickey, a 30-year coaching veteran, is regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in the country having tutored K-State offensive linemen to 22 All-Big 12 honors since his arrival. He has also coached a pair of All-Americans in B.J. Finney, who earned second-team honors in 2014, and Dalton Risner, a first-team honoree this past year.

Under the direction of Dickey, the 2016 line helped K-State set the school record for rushing yards per carry (5.27), rank third in K-State history in total rushing yards (3,013) and rushing yards per game (231.8), and seventh in rushing touchdowns (39). They followed that up in 2017 by tying for third in school history in rushing yards per carry (4.98) and finishing seventh with 2,584 total rushing yards.

A 2012 runner up for the Heisman Trophy after quarterbacking the Wildcats to a Big 12 Championship, Klein just completed his first season as an assistant coach at K-State. Klein joined the staff in 2014 as a quality control coach and assistant director of recruiting before becoming an offensive graduate assistant in 2015. He spent the 2016 season as the quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa.

Upon his return to K-State in 2017, Klein helped the Wildcats earn their eighth-straight bowl berth despite being forced the start three different quarterbacks due to injury. K-State finished the year ranked 13^th in the nation in passing yards per completion (14.48), while the Wildcats’ 141.7 passing efficiency mark ranked eighth in school history.

Under Klein’s tutelage, Jesse Ertz put together the fifth-best pass efficiency mark in a season (150.22) while his 129.5 mark ranked ninth in a career. He also set the school record for lowest interception percentage (1.92) and became the 21^st passer in school history to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark in a career. Klein also helped develop redshirt freshman Skylar Thompson, who started the final four games of the season and passed for 689 yards, the fourth most by a freshman in school history. Thompson’s season was highlighted by a Wildcat victory at 10^th-ranked Oklahoma State in which he threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns on 10-of-13 aim, good for a 274.89 pass efficiency rating to rank fifth in school history.

Additionally, Alex Delton helped lead the Wildcats to victories against Kansas and Texas Tech, while he came off the bench against UCLA in the Cactus Bowl to rush for 158 yards and three touchdowns to earn Offensive MVP honors.

K-State’s offensive staff, led by Coleman and co-coordinators Dickey and Klein, also includes recently-announced former Wildcats that joined the staff in Zach Hanson(tight ends) and Eric Hickson (running backs).

 

– k-statesports.com –

 
RYAN LACKEY
Asst. Director/Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

Dennis Throne and Lyn Jones will serve as the coaches for the Saint Xavier Alumni basketball games on Dec. 22, 2018.

The coaches were introduced at Saint Xavier High School Tuesday morning.  The announcement was made in Lyn Jones’ classroom by school officials, alumni and former coaches. It was a surprise for Jones who had not been told beforehand. Chuckling he stated, “I’m always surprised in my room. It’s kind of good though, good to see some old faces.”  Jones is retiring at the end of the current school year. During his time at Saint Xavier dating back 28 years he has coached at either the junior high or high school level basketball, football and scholar’s bowl.

Throne coached at Saint Xavier for seven years in the 1980’s. He remembers a huge win for his high school boys basketball team over Bennington in the finals of the Class One-A Regional tournament in 1986 that propelled the Rams on to the substate tournament. ” That was pretty exciting, and then I coached on the girls side and had the good fortune of coaching two D-I athletes, Megan Majerus and Leslie Wahle, who played D-I volleyball. “Throne later taught in Council Grove, and still coaches today at Council Grove High School.

The Alumni event on December 22nd will include both men’s and women’s basketball games in the Bradley Gym featuring alumni. Being planned in conjunction with the event will be a mass, an evening meal, and the basketball games at 7 p.m.  Saint Xavier alum Dan Zoeller is working to coordinate the event, with support from Saint Xavier School Principal Shawn Augustine.

The first Alumni basketball games in 2014 drew a big turnout to the school. Organizers Tuesday estimated that attendance in the 1,000 to 1,100 range.