MANHATTAN, Kan. – Former K-State greats Michael Bishop and Martin Gramatica were two of 75 Football Bowl Subdivision players named to the 2018 ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, the National Football Foundation announced today.

One of the most dynamic players in program history, Bishop played a major role in propelling the Wildcats to their first-ever No. 1 national ranking during the second of his two seasons at K-State (1997-1998), while Gramatica did the same while setting NCAA kicking records and earning two All-America honors.

 

The 1998 Heisman Trophy runner up and the Davey O’Brien Award winner, Bishop still holds the K-State season passing efficiency record after a 159.6 rating in 1998 (164-of-295 for 2,844 yards and 23 TDs/4 INTs) in addition to ranking second in season total offense at 3,592 yards. He went 22-3 as a starter, including a 15-1 mark in Big 12 play, while also earning All-Big 12 honors both as a junior and senior. Bishop was taken in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft by New England.

 

Gramatica won the Lou Groza Award in 1997 and was named a Consensus All-American. He went on to set the NCAA record for scoring by a kicker in a season with 135 points in 1998 and connected on the longest field goal in NCAA history without the use of a tee at 65 yards, a mark that still stands today. Gramatica also holds K-State’s game, season and career kick scoring records and is tops in school history for career field goals made and field goals attempted.

 

Most recently, Bishop was also named to the K-State Ring of Honor Class of 2015 and the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017, while Gramatica entered the Ring of Honor in 2008 and the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.

 

“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the ballot when you think that more than 5.19 million people have played college football and only 987 players have been inducted,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “The Hall’s requirement of being a First-Team All-American creates a much smaller pool of only 1,500 individuals who are even eligible. So being in today’s elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to ever have played the game, and we are extremely proud to announce their names. We look forward to revealing the 2018 Class prior to the CFP National Championship in Atlanta, the esteemed home of the College Football Hall of Fame.”

 

The ballot was emailed today to the more than 12,000 NFF members and current Hall of Famers whose votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF’s Honors Courts, which will deliberate and select the class. The FBS Honors Court, chaired by NFF Board Member and College Football Hall of Famer Archie Griffin from Ohio State, and the Divisional Honors Court, chaired by former Marshall head coach, longtime athletics director and NFF Board MemberJack Lengyel, include an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletic administrators, Hall of Famers and members of the media.

 

“Having a ballot and a voice in the selection of the inductees is one of the most cherished NFF member benefits,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, a 1989 Hall of Fame inductee from Mississippi. “There is no group more knowledgeable or passionate about college football than our membership, and the tradition of the ballot helps us engage them in the lofty responsibility of selecting those who have reached the pinnacle of achievement in our sport.”

 

The announcement of the 2018 Class will be made Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, in Atlanta. The city is serving as the host for the CFP National Championship, which will be played later that day at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Some of the inductees will be on site during the announcement to represent the class and share their thoughts on being elected. The Jan. 8announcement will be televised live, and specific viewing information will be available as the date draws near. A few inductees will also participate in the pregame festivities and the coin toss before the championship game.

 

“We cannot thank CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock and his staff enough for the opportunity to continue the tradition of announcing our Hall of Fame Class in conjunction with the National Championship,” said Hatchell. “Our presence at the title game has significantly raised the profile of the announcement, allowing us to shine a much brighter light on the accomplishments of our game’s greatest legends.”

 

The 2018 class will officially be inducted during the 61^st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 4, 2018, at the New York Hilton Midtown. The inductees will be permanently enshrined at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta later that December and honored on the field during the 14th Annual National Hall of Fame Salute during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. They will also be honored at their respective schools at an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments, during the 2018 season.

 

– k-statesports.com –

 

KENNY LANNOU
Associate A.D. for Communications | K-State Athletics

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Highlighted by consecutive home games to open the season and a trip to Vanderbilt in week three, game times and television designations for Kansas State’s first three football games were announced by the Big 12 Conference and its television partners Wednesday afternoon.

K-State, which is opening the season with consecutive home games for the first time since 2013, kicks off the 2017 campaign against Central Arkansas at 6:10 p.m., in a game broadcast world-wide on K-StateHD.TV. For ordering information, log on to www.k-statehd.tv and click on the “Subscribe Now” button.

The following week, September 9, the Wildcats host Charlotte at 11 a.m., and the game will be aired by FSN. It marks the fourth-straight year Kansas State will play a member of Conference USA with three of those contests being played in Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

The Wildcats then travel to Nashville, Tennessee, on September 16, to face Vanderbilt at 6:30 p.m., in a game televised nationally by ESPNU. It is the first meeting between the Wildcats and Commodores since 1984 and the Wildcats’ first trip to an SEC opponent since playing at Auburn in 2007.

As in years past, all remaining Big 12 game times and television information will be selected on a 12- or six-day basis throughout the season.

Season tickets for the seven-game home slate in 2017 are on sale now through the K-State Athletics Ticket office online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum. Public single-game tickets will go on sale beginning June 19 exclusively for Ahearn Fund members, to all fans online only on June 20 and over the phone on June 21.

Television Selections for First Three K-State Football Games
Date Opponent TV Time (CT)
Sept. 2 Central Arkansas K-StateHD.TV 6:10 p.m.
Sept. 9 Charlotte FSN 11 a.m.
Sept. 16 at Vanderbilt ESPNU 6:30 p.m.

– k-statesports.com –

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State will resume the Wichita Wildcat Classic basketball series at INTRUST Bank Arena when the Wildcats host American Conference foe Tulsa on Saturday, December 9, 2017.

The game will be the Wildcats’ fourth in Wichita in the last seven years, following tilts with West Virginia in 2011, Gonzaga in 2013 and Colorado State in 2015. The team is 2-1 all-time in the Wichita Wildcat Classic, including a 61-56 victory over the Rams in their last matchup in the event on December 19, 2015.

“We are excited to once again play in front of our passionate fan base in Wichita,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “We have had tremendous crowds for each our of games at INTRUST Bank Arena and, with a quality foe like Tulsa, I anticipate another terrific environment.”

The three-game agreement calls for a return game to the Donald W. Reynolds Center in Tulsa on December 8, 2018 and a home game at Bramlage Coliseum on a date to be determined in 2019.

Tickets for the Wichita Wildcat Classic will be available first to men’s basketball season ticket holders and Ahearn Fund members beginning Wednesday, June 7. Fans who renew or order their 2017-18 season tickets by the June 23 early-bird deadline will receive complimentary lower-level sideline tickets. General public tickets will go on sale Tuesday, September 5, and can be purchased through the K-State Athletics Ticket Office by calling (800) 221.CATS or online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets or through INTRUST Bank Arena at www.selectaseat.com.

Tickets are priced at $50 for lower-level sideline seating, $25 or a Wildcat 4 Pack for $75 for lower-level corner seating, $15 or a Wildcat 4 Pack for $50 for lower-level end seating behind the baskets at the INTRUST Bank Arena. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $5 each in the lower-level end behind the baskets.

An allotment of $5 student tickets will be available to K-State students through the ticket office in the fall.

The game will mark the seventh meeting between the schools and first since a home-and-home series during the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons. Tulsa owns a 5-1 advantage in a series that dates to 1965. The teams split their home-and-home series with each winning on their own home court, including a 75-69 win by the Wildcats at Bramlage Coliseum on December 14, 1989. This will be the first meeting at a neutral site.

“Tulsa is a high-quality, non-conference opponent which has advanced to the postseason three times in the last four seasons,” said Weber. “Coach (Frank) Haith has a done a terrific job. They return a solid core of players, including their top 3 scorers, so this will be another challenging game for our guys.”

The Wildcats will return nine lettermen, including three players – Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade – who started all 35 games for a Wildcat squad that won 21 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Brown and Stokes are the team’s top returning scorers with identical 11.7 points per game averages, while Stokes was the team leader in 3-point field goals (64), assists (4.1 apg.) and minutes (33.3 mpg.) in 2016-17. Brown set a single-season school record for steals with 82, while Wade averaged 9.3 points on nearly 50 percent shooting and is the team’s top returner in both rebounding (4.5 rpg.) and blocked shots (0.7 bpg.).

In addition to its returning lettermen, K-State will welcome five newcomers (juniors Makol Mawien and Amaad Wainright and freshmen Mike McGuirl, Nigel Shadd and Levi Stockard III) as well as redshirt freshmen Cartier Diarra and James Love III, who both missed the 2016-17 season due to injury.

Led by fourth-year head coach Frank Haith, Tulsa is set to return seven players with starting experience in 2017-18 from a team that has advanced to the postseason three times in the last four seasons, including NCAA Tournament appearances in 2014 and 2016. Last season, the Golden Hurricane posted a 15-17 overall record, including an 8-10 mark in American Athletic Conference play. Among the eight lettermen returning from 2016-17 include the top three scorers – senior forwardJunior Etou (12.6 ppg.), senior guard Jaleel Wheeler (9.3 ppg.) and junior guard Sterling Taplin (9.2 ppg.).

The full non-conference slate, as well as 2017-18 season ticket plan details, will be released in the coming weeks.

The players and coaches that will comprise the 2017 Junction City Brigade summer collegiate baseball team met at Rathert Field Tuesday evening for a short meeting and batting practice.

Head Coach Seth Wheeler and General Manager Cecil Aska met with the team, which is comprised of college and junior college players from across the region.

Wheeler, who started as a Brigade player five years ago, is now entering his third season as head coach. He said this is the most returning players the program has ever had. “The thing I’m most excited about is to have those six or seven guys coming back, and they’re really good kids too.” Some of them include Josh Maple, Cole Brecheisen, Collin Chandler and Lane Fleming.

The Brigade are the defending Cowdin Cup champions in the Mid Plains League.

The team opens with a three game series against the Rossville Rattlers. Junction City plays at Rossville Thursday and Friday nights at 7 p.m. and hosts the Rattlers Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rathert Field.