Kansas State University Athletics
K-State, Knight Extend Contract Through 2020-21 Season
Jul 11, 2017 | General
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kristi Knight, the longest-tenured women’s golf coach in Kansas State history, has signed a contract extension to remain at K-State through the 2020-21 season, athletics director Gene Taylor announced Tuesday.
The contract extends Knight’s current deal, which ran through 2017-18, by three years as she will receive $90,000 next season with $5,000 increases each additional contract year.
“Kristi has done an incredible job of building our women’s golf program with student-athletes that fit well here at K-State,” Taylor said. “She has also played a key role in the development of the women’s collegiate golf game throughout her various roles with the Women’s Golf Coaches Association and is someone who is well-respected in the coaching profession. Certainly last season’s NCAA Championship berth was proof that our program remains headed in the right direction, and we look forward to many more seasons of producing championship-level golf while maintaining the high level of academic success achieved year in and year out under her leadership.”
The best years of K-State women’s golf have fallen under Knight’s watch. Since her arrival in 1995, the Wildcats have accumulated 62 top-five team finishes, including 41 in the top three and nine wins, two of which came in 2016-17. The Wildcats are coming off an NCAA Regional appearance this past season, the fifth in school history. Senior Madison Talley led the Wildcats into the regional after qualifying as an individual each of the previous two years.
“I want to thank Gene for the confidence he has in me to continue to lead our women’s golf program,” Knight said. “K-State is a great university and I love Manhattan. The people – in the community, our athletics administration and especially our players – make this a wonderful place to work and live. I am excited about the team and what we can accomplish in the future.”
Each of the school’s top-25 team and individual rounds as well as team and individual 54-hole scores have come under Knight in addition to every team and individual record in program history. Additionally, the top three annual team stroke average marks in school history have come in the last three years. Last year’s 298.00 mark ranked third in program history and was just over a half stroke per round shy of the school record of 297.30 set in 2014-15.
Not only has Knight helped her players strive for excellence on the golf course, but in the classroom as well as her pupils have accumulated 73 Academic All-Big 12 selections in her 22 years at K-State, including a school-record five in 2013 and four more in each of the last two seasons.
Knight has also been heavily involved with the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA – formerly National Golf Coaches Association of America). She was elected to serve on the Awards Committee in 2006, while she later served as the Division I Director. After serving a two-year stint as Vice President, Knight completed her first of a two-year appointment as President of the WGCA in 2016-17.
A native of Crockett, Texas, Knight graduated from Norman (Okla.) High School. She played collegiately at Oklahoma from 1985-88, where she was a consistent player for the Sooners, lettering three years. As a senior, Knight was named team co-captain and selected as a Scholastic All-American.
After earning her bachelor’s degree, Knight began working at the prestigious Oak Tree Country Club in Edmond, Oklahoma, and then went on to earn her master’s degree in sports administration from Oklahoma in 1993.
