Snyder Says Little to Media, More to UCLA : College football: Kansas State coach is high on Bruin post, not public relations.

Kansas State football Coach Bill Snyder doesn’t talk to reporters often, and when he does he chooses his words carefully.

But even the tight-lipped Snyder can’t keep a lid on his interest in the vacant UCLA job.

“I won’t ever pursue a job or an interview, but if UCLA calls, certainly I will listen,” said Snyder, believed to be one of the strongest of several candidates UCLA Athletic Director Peter Dalis is considering to replace retired Terry Donahue.

“I have great respect for the kind of job Terry has done and the way he’s run the program.”

Snyder has relayed his interest to Dalis, and the two are expected to talk over the weekend. Tenth-ranked Kansas State plays Colorado State in the Holiday Bowl on Friday night at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Snyder is in the third year of a 10-year contract that reportedly pays between $250,000 and $300,000 annually, though he said he has been told he can stay as long as likes.

“I have a lifetime contract, but a lifetime may be a difficult commitment,” he said. “I don’t know if I can stay here forever because hard work takes a toll. And this has been a lot of hard work.”

Since taking over at Kansas State seven years ago, Snyder has turned one of the nation’s worst programs into a Big Eight Conference contender. The turnaround has brought a good deal of attention from athletic directors in search of a winning coach.

Snyder was rumored to be a candidate at Louisiana State last year, although he denies it. He has squelched every other coaching rumor as well. Until now.

There are several reasons Snyder is interested in UCLA. He began his coaching career in Southern California, first as a graduate assistant at USC under John McKay in 1966 and then at Indio and Santa Ana Foothill high schools.

Snyder also wants to coach at a school with a winning tradition but not one where a national championship is expected.

“Nobody wants to win a national title more than me, but I want to do it at a place where it belongs to me and my team and not everyone else at the school,” he said.

And Snyder may realize he has gone as far as he can go at Kansas State. The Wildcats have won nine games each of the last three seasons and are making their third consecutive bowl game appearance. But in the Big Eight, with such perennial powers as Nebraska and Colorado, and with Texas and Texas A&M; joining the conference, it will be an even more difficult road to the top.

“We’ve come a long way, but our work is far from finished,” said Snyder, the offensive coordinator at Iowa for 10 years before coming to Kansas State.

And at 55, Snyder wants his next move to be his last. UCLA offers stability; Donahue lasted 20 years.

Snyder is older than some of the other candidates, who include UCLA assistants Bob Toledo and Bob Field, Northwestern Coach Gary Barnett and Denver Bronco defensive coordinator Greg Robinson.

Age apparently is not a major concern for Dalis, though Snyder’s unfriendly relationship with the media could work against him in a large market such as Southern California.

During the season, Snyder rarely speaks with reporters. He participates in a teleconference call of Big Eight coaches on Mondays and holds a 30-minute news conference on Tuesdays. He is not available after practices, most of which are closed.

Snyder also controls which players are available at the weekly news conference, and he instructs them not to comment if contacted by reporters away from the field. The team locker room is closed after all games.

“I think it’s right that Coach Snyder watches out for our best interests,” said quarterback Matt Miller. “He doesn’t want us giving away any secrets or getting into trouble with the press, and I think most of the players agree with that philosophy.”

Snyder said his unfavorable reputation with media is more perception than reality.

“I admit, I’ve taken quite a bit of control in this area, but it was imperative when I arrived here because of the state of the program,” he said. “I wanted to get rid of every distraction that could take away from our success on the field. I don’t want to be providing bulletin board material.”

Critics may question his techniques, but they can’t argue with his results.

When Snyder arrived at Kansas State, the football program was considered the worst in Division I. From 1985 to ‘88, the Wildcats went 3-40-1, including a 27-game losing streak.

In Snyder’s first season, Kansas State finished 1-10 but ended its losing streak at 30 games with a 20-17 victory over North Texas. The Wildcats, who for years were referred to as the “Mildcats,” improved to 5-6 in 1990, then went 7-4 in ’91.

For the last three seasons, Snyder has a combined record of 27-7-1, 17-1-1 at home.

In 1993, Kansas State made its second postseason appearance in school history and defeated Wyoming, 52-17, in the Copper Bowl. The Wildcats lost to Boston College, 12-7, in the Aloha Bowl last season and appeared on their way to the Cotton Bowl this season before Colorado scored two late touchdowns in the regular-season finale for a 27-17 victory.

As the team has improved, attendance has more than doubled from the 20,000 average in the 1980s. Snyder had four All-Americans before this season, including quarterback Chad May, picked in the fourth round of the 1995 NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings.

“There hasn’t been any secret ingredient to what we’ve done here,” Snyder said. “It’s been a combination of things, including a school president who has given me the control to do what I felt was necessary. I’m not a control freak, but to rebuild a program like this I felt I needed a certain amount of control to do what was necessary.”