SE: Barta Brings Kansas Football Roots into Sunflower Showdown
Oct 23, 2020 | Football, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Mason Barta remembers climbing the steps of the old Vanier Family Football Complex when he was a kid.
His Dad seemed to know everyone in the building and Brooks Barta needed to say hello. After renewing old acquaintances, Mason walked into Coach Bill Snyder's office for the first time.
"He hung up the phone when my Dad came in and we just sat down and talked about life," Barta said. "I thought that was amazing. This program doesn't forget about the guys that come through here."
Every time Mason Barta lines up in the backfield this season, it's impossible to forget about where this Kansas State program has been and where the Wildcats are going.
Brooks and Mason Barta aren't the only father and son to come through the K-State football program, but the Kansas roots in the Barta family run deeper than most.
"I don't think Kansas has a reputation around the nation as a football state," Brooks Barta said. "But high school football is important here. Especially in Western Kansas where I grew up, Friday night football was really a big deal."
As No. 19 K-State prepares to face Kansas this weekend, Mason Barta has been schooled in a rivalry that's built on places like Smith Center and Holton, just as much as the two college towns where the Dillons Sunflower Showdown is played every year.
Those are the places where his grandfather, Roger Barta, coached football for 35 years at Smith Center High School and where Brooks has coached at Holton High School since 1996.
"They want to coach their players to not just be good football players, but to be men of faith and family," Mason Barta said. "I know that my Grandfather and my Dad really coach that family aspect."
It means as much to Brooks Barta now as when he arrived at Kansas State in 1989, the same year that an offensive coordinator from Iowa took charge of the program.
Barta helped change the direction of K-State Football under Coach Snyder, leading the team to their first winning season in almost a decade as a junior linebacker in 1991.
"The culture of the university for a Kansas kid, it's a great place to go," Barta said. "I think the quality of the community has probably been undersold, the commitment of the faculty to athletes that you don't see at a lot of universities and the commitment from the people of Kansas. It's got a little bit of the best of everything."
Before he was a three-time co-captain for Snyder and led the Wildcats in tackles all four years, Brooks Barta grew up in Smith Center, about two and half hours west of Manhattan.
Smith Center has a population of just over 1,000 people and some impossible-to-top Midwestern credibility located within a few miles of the geographic center of the United States.
They also have a really good high school football team.
"It was a tough brand of football," Barta said. "But I think the neat thing about Kansas is that our kids have the opportunity to play multiple sports and be involved in multiple activities."
It's a philosophy that Brooks Barta shares with his high school coach – his dad, Roger Barta.
Playing for his father at Smith Center High School, Barta and his state champion teammates ran the wishbone offense while focusing on more than just football.
In a Reader's Digest article about his success coaching at Smith Center, Roger Barta explained one of the principles behind his 35-year career and 323-68 record as a high school coach.
"When you tell kids there's more to life than football, you have to show them you mean it."
That philosophy, and the incredible success of the man behind it, inspired the New York Times bestselling book Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen.
The book, written by Joe Drape, chronicled Smith Center through the 2008 season, when the team boasted the longest winning streak in the nation, one they would stretch to 79 games.
Mason Barta was nine years old when Drape shadowed his grandfather on the Smith Center sidelines, even if he didn't give it much thought during the season.
"When I got a chance to read the book, I was really pleased with how Joe Drape wrote it," Barta said. "My Grandpa didn't change anything. He was just himself and coached the way he always had. It was cool to have that role model of being humble, even when things are going well."
Mason Barta spent that season getting to know his grandfather's players and was in the locker room after Smith Center saw their historic winning streak come to an end.
"Everybody was pretty down, but my Grandpa was still coaching life and the same morals," Barta said. "That was really cool to see."
When Barta grew up, from that nine-year-old in the Smith Center locker room to the top-ranked outside linebacker in Kansas, his recruitment ended with another legendary coach.
Back in the Vanier Family Football Complex with his son, Brooks Barta told Coach Snyder, "You could start your career with a Barta and end your career with a Barta." That's exactly how it played out.
"We wanted Mason to choose what was best for him," Brooks Barta said. "Of course, as his parents we were just excited because he was going to be close to home."
It also made for some interesting phone calls as Mason Barta adjusted to the demands of Big 12 football and a coach with high expectations for his players.
"I would call home and be like, 'Man, Coach Snyder is really on me this week.' Stuff like that," Barta said. "And my Dad would be like, 'I know exactly what you're talking about.' But it built a lot of character and it was cool to experience the same things that my Dad went through."
Mason's mom Tonya said that even though game day routines are a little different this year, she and Brooks still travel to every game – with the exception of West Virginia, when an early kickoff across the country will conflict with Brooks coaching Holton the Friday night before.
"It's challenging after the road games because we're supposed to be keeping our distance," Tonya Barta said. "After OU and TCU, it was hard to travel all that way and you can't even give your son a hug. But we're close by and I'm thankful for that."
Mason Barta began the 2020 season as one of 54 players on the K-State roster from the state of Kansas, more than double the number of players from anywhere else in the country.
Playing as a fullback for the Wildcats, Barta was in the backfield against Oklahoma to deliver a swing-out block that sprung Deuce Vaughn loose for a game-tying touchdown, what would prove to be one of the defining moments of an upset over third-ranked Sooners.
But with Kansas in town for Homecoming this weekend, the importance of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown isn't lost on Brooks or Mason Barta.
"The further east you move in this state, the more tired you get hearing about KU Basketball," Brooks Barta said. "But I think the K-State brand fits the state of Kansas. It's about the way they play football, the kind of people that they turn out and the number of kids in the state of Kansas that dream of playing at K-State."
On a team with 20 other states represented (and the country of Samoa) Mason Barta knows exactly what makes the Kansas contingent such valuable members of the Wildcats.
Both his grandfather and father built high school programs with "a bunch of hard-nosed, tough guys who run the ball and play good defense."
Mason Barta said that mindset is part of the culture on this K-State team - and it's why beating the Kansas Jayhawks remains as important as ever.
"It's more than just bragging rights. There's a bunch of guys from Kansas on both teams and it's fun to play guys you remember from high school," Barta said. "No matter what the records are, both teams are going to bring it every year."
Mason Barta remembers climbing the steps of the old Vanier Family Football Complex when he was a kid.
His Dad seemed to know everyone in the building and Brooks Barta needed to say hello. After renewing old acquaintances, Mason walked into Coach Bill Snyder's office for the first time.
"He hung up the phone when my Dad came in and we just sat down and talked about life," Barta said. "I thought that was amazing. This program doesn't forget about the guys that come through here."
Every time Mason Barta lines up in the backfield this season, it's impossible to forget about where this Kansas State program has been and where the Wildcats are going.
Brooks and Mason Barta aren't the only father and son to come through the K-State football program, but the Kansas roots in the Barta family run deeper than most.
"I don't think Kansas has a reputation around the nation as a football state," Brooks Barta said. "But high school football is important here. Especially in Western Kansas where I grew up, Friday night football was really a big deal."
As No. 19 K-State prepares to face Kansas this weekend, Mason Barta has been schooled in a rivalry that's built on places like Smith Center and Holton, just as much as the two college towns where the Dillons Sunflower Showdown is played every year.
Those are the places where his grandfather, Roger Barta, coached football for 35 years at Smith Center High School and where Brooks has coached at Holton High School since 1996.
"They want to coach their players to not just be good football players, but to be men of faith and family," Mason Barta said. "I know that my Grandfather and my Dad really coach that family aspect."
It means as much to Brooks Barta now as when he arrived at Kansas State in 1989, the same year that an offensive coordinator from Iowa took charge of the program.
Barta helped change the direction of K-State Football under Coach Snyder, leading the team to their first winning season in almost a decade as a junior linebacker in 1991.
"The culture of the university for a Kansas kid, it's a great place to go," Barta said. "I think the quality of the community has probably been undersold, the commitment of the faculty to athletes that you don't see at a lot of universities and the commitment from the people of Kansas. It's got a little bit of the best of everything."
Before he was a three-time co-captain for Snyder and led the Wildcats in tackles all four years, Brooks Barta grew up in Smith Center, about two and half hours west of Manhattan.
Smith Center has a population of just over 1,000 people and some impossible-to-top Midwestern credibility located within a few miles of the geographic center of the United States.
They also have a really good high school football team.
"It was a tough brand of football," Barta said. "But I think the neat thing about Kansas is that our kids have the opportunity to play multiple sports and be involved in multiple activities."
It's a philosophy that Brooks Barta shares with his high school coach – his dad, Roger Barta.
Playing for his father at Smith Center High School, Barta and his state champion teammates ran the wishbone offense while focusing on more than just football.
In a Reader's Digest article about his success coaching at Smith Center, Roger Barta explained one of the principles behind his 35-year career and 323-68 record as a high school coach.
"When you tell kids there's more to life than football, you have to show them you mean it."
That philosophy, and the incredible success of the man behind it, inspired the New York Times bestselling book Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen.
The book, written by Joe Drape, chronicled Smith Center through the 2008 season, when the team boasted the longest winning streak in the nation, one they would stretch to 79 games.
Mason Barta was nine years old when Drape shadowed his grandfather on the Smith Center sidelines, even if he didn't give it much thought during the season.
"When I got a chance to read the book, I was really pleased with how Joe Drape wrote it," Barta said. "My Grandpa didn't change anything. He was just himself and coached the way he always had. It was cool to have that role model of being humble, even when things are going well."
Mason Barta spent that season getting to know his grandfather's players and was in the locker room after Smith Center saw their historic winning streak come to an end.
"Everybody was pretty down, but my Grandpa was still coaching life and the same morals," Barta said. "That was really cool to see."
When Barta grew up, from that nine-year-old in the Smith Center locker room to the top-ranked outside linebacker in Kansas, his recruitment ended with another legendary coach.
Back in the Vanier Family Football Complex with his son, Brooks Barta told Coach Snyder, "You could start your career with a Barta and end your career with a Barta." That's exactly how it played out.
"We wanted Mason to choose what was best for him," Brooks Barta said. "Of course, as his parents we were just excited because he was going to be close to home."
It also made for some interesting phone calls as Mason Barta adjusted to the demands of Big 12 football and a coach with high expectations for his players.
"I would call home and be like, 'Man, Coach Snyder is really on me this week.' Stuff like that," Barta said. "And my Dad would be like, 'I know exactly what you're talking about.' But it built a lot of character and it was cool to experience the same things that my Dad went through."
Mason's mom Tonya said that even though game day routines are a little different this year, she and Brooks still travel to every game – with the exception of West Virginia, when an early kickoff across the country will conflict with Brooks coaching Holton the Friday night before.
"It's challenging after the road games because we're supposed to be keeping our distance," Tonya Barta said. "After OU and TCU, it was hard to travel all that way and you can't even give your son a hug. But we're close by and I'm thankful for that."
Mason Barta began the 2020 season as one of 54 players on the K-State roster from the state of Kansas, more than double the number of players from anywhere else in the country.
Playing as a fullback for the Wildcats, Barta was in the backfield against Oklahoma to deliver a swing-out block that sprung Deuce Vaughn loose for a game-tying touchdown, what would prove to be one of the defining moments of an upset over third-ranked Sooners.
But with Kansas in town for Homecoming this weekend, the importance of the Dillons Sunflower Showdown isn't lost on Brooks or Mason Barta.
"The further east you move in this state, the more tired you get hearing about KU Basketball," Brooks Barta said. "But I think the K-State brand fits the state of Kansas. It's about the way they play football, the kind of people that they turn out and the number of kids in the state of Kansas that dream of playing at K-State."
On a team with 20 other states represented (and the country of Samoa) Mason Barta knows exactly what makes the Kansas contingent such valuable members of the Wildcats.
Both his grandfather and father built high school programs with "a bunch of hard-nosed, tough guys who run the ball and play good defense."
Mason Barta said that mindset is part of the culture on this K-State team - and it's why beating the Kansas Jayhawks remains as important as ever.
"It's more than just bragging rights. There's a bunch of guys from Kansas on both teams and it's fun to play guys you remember from high school," Barta said. "No matter what the records are, both teams are going to bring it every year."
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