‘Man, This Is What It’s All About’

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Michael Bishop, the most dangerous signal-caller in college football in 1998, conquered a significant barrier while leading Kansas State to a No. 1 ranking, a win over Nebraska, and an 11-2 record during his senior season. He became the first quarterback in the history of the prestigious Davey O'Brien Award to earn the nation's top quarterback honor while passing for at least 1,500 yards and running for at least 500 yards in a season.

Now he has been elected into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame, the NFF announced on Monday.

Bishop, the runner-up for the 1998 Heisman Trophy, threw for 2,844 yards with 23 touchdowns and just four interceptions, while he rushed for 748 yards and 14 touchdowns.

He pioneered a trend. After 1998, six of the next 13 O'Brien Award winners — Joe Hamilton (1999), Eric Crouch (2001), Vince Young (2005), Tim Tebow (2007), Cam Newton (2010) and Robert Griffin III (2011) — each passed for more than 1,500 yards and rushed for at least 500 yards during their own respective award-winning campaigns.
Today, Bishop is a state champion head football coach at Legacy the School of Sport Sciences in Spring, Texas.
Bishop, who was also inducted into the K-State Football Ring of Honor in 2015, spoke with D. Scott Fritchen of K-State Sports Extra about his election into the College Football Hall of Fame.

D. Scott Fritchen: Can you take us through your Monday and describe the moment you learned that you were elected into the College Football Hall of Fame?

Michael Bishop: For some strange reason I have conditioned my mind and my body to wake up every morning at 3 a.m. I get up and normally get in three to five miles in my neighborhood, then get ready to go to school. I'm blessed to impact a group of student-athletes at Legacy the School of Sports Sciences in Texas, where I'm the head football coach. School starts at 7:45 a.m. and is over at 4:10 p.m. Over the course of the day, I come to my office and get ready to take on a task of whatever may come my way during the course of a day. When you're involved in the school you become teacher, coach, mentor, father figure, big brother. You wear many titles because kids come from all walks of life and kids need love. That's the way I look at it. It's a big task, but I'm used to jumping in and putting everything I have into any situation I'm a part of. That's basically how I run my day.

Monday, it was a great setup, because I had no idea really what was going on. I had to go home to accept a box in the mail and I did not know what was in the box. Every year since I'd been on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot, I'd wished that I'd be selected, but I didn't know it'd be in 2023. I arrived home and my daughter was there, and a Zoom was setup. I got on the Zoom and there was Coach Bill Snyder, Coach Chris Klieman, and Athletic Director Gene Taylor. First thing I heard was Coach Snyder's voice and I knew it was something important. I thought, 'What was going on?' Coach Snyder told me, 'You've waited long enough.' The last couple times I was devastated I hadn't gotten in. He said, 'I want you to realize this is a major achievement and we welcome you to the College Football Hall of Fame.' I was speechless. It was such a surreal moment. You don't grow up thinking about the College Football Hall of Fame. You have dreams of playing for a major Division I-A school.

For me to be mentioned years prior was a great feeling because I read a stat that 5.62 million play football and only 1,000 or so are inducted. That stat alone, man, it's outrageous. To finally know I'll be inducted, it took the breath out of me. I told Coach Snyder, 'This ranks right up there with beating Nebraska and seeing everybody go crazy and rush the field.' That's how I felt in the moment. Coach Klieman and Mr. Taylor told me congratulations. After the Zoom call, I just sat there for a second, and thought, 'Man, this is what it's all about.' You put in so much blood and tears. Over the years as a player, you learn to have patience, you learn how to execute, you learn teamwork, and all these magnificent things that can carry you through life. At the end, you're blessed to be with an elite group of athletes forever in history. I took that in.

The first thing that came to mind is I knew my mom and dad, if they were here right now, both would be crying and telling me, 'Mike, you finally got it.' Besides the Heisman, this is the biggest thing in college football, and I'm a part of it. The feeling really was indescribable at the time. Now that I've had time to think about it, man, I'm blessed. There are so many great athletes that have had tremendous careers who are not even on the ballot. I think about those guys. I think about all my teammates from junior college to K-State, to New England to Green Bay to all the guys playing Canadian Football League, and all these guys who have talent but haven't had the chance to feel like I feel right now. I sat back and said, 'Mike, you've accomplished so much that many people didn't think you'd accomplish.'

Everybody knows my story. There were plenty of colleges that didn't think I could play quarterback. Now I'm in the College Football Hall of Fame as a quarterback. I went back and read the requirements for the Hall of Fame and my name pops up in eight of 10 of those categories or more. That's when I knew, 'This is for real.' I opened up the box that I accepted in the mail and saw the commemorate football and welcome letter and the details about the College Football Hall of Fame. I said, 'You made it. You're in there.' It was a wonderful day. Now I can say, 'I'm a Hall of Famer.'

"The impact you had on Kansas State. The impact you had on college football is being recognized."#KStateFB x @7MichaelBishop pic.twitter.com/darSXkg2nz
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) January 10, 2023

Fritchen: What has the response been since the announcement?

Bishop: Man, I tell you what, there are people calling me right now as we talk, and I'm not going to hang up, and I'm going to be in this moment. Most people know I'm up at 3 a.m., so I've had some old teammates call me at 4 a.m. and say, 'Mike, I know you're up. Congratulations. I'm thinking about you. I'm glad you're in now. Keep doing what you're doing with the kids. Your reward has come.' The love and support has been through the roof on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. My phone has not stopped since the announcement. That goes to show that not only what you do on the football field, it goes a long way with your teammates and what you bring to the table, but when I have people who've never played the game of football who are showing love to me and told me great job and we're praying for you, that right there lets me know I've been doing some things right.

I'm walking my path. That's important to me because it's not just about what you do on the football field. Football doesn't last forever, and I understand that. But when you're able to put your name in history, 30 years down the line, my information is going to be there because of my impact on the game. That's what I'm proud of because the kids I coach now, they can go to YouTube and see my videos, but if they go to the College Football Hall of Fame, they can see a great man — I call myself that for my kids — there's a great man who's inducted forever. That stands out to me.

Fritchen: This has been quite a journey for you. You've been nominated multiple times through the years. Was there ever a time when you wondered if you'd ever be elected into the College Football Hall of Fame?

Bishop: To be honest, I looked at the list and there are some men older than me who haven't made it in. Honestly, the second go-around, I told myself, 'There are guys who have been on the ballot for a long time, and you have to be patient.' When you're an athlete and are used to winning games, I thought, 'I have to win this game and get in there.' I thought, 'If it's going to happen, it's going to happen.' I had a feeling that I'd get in, I just wasn't sure when. Now that feeling is that I'm there, I'm in there.

In the beginning, I didn't read all the requirements. I did my research after the second nomination and asked Coach Snyder a couple questions. I told him, 'Coach, I feel like I should be in. Why are they not voting me in?' Then I said, 'You know what, this is in God's hands. I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing and do right by everything that I'm attached to, and let the chips fall where they may.' The chips fell and here I am in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Fritchen: Does it seem like it was yesterday you were a 1998 Heisman Trophy finalist, or does it seem like decades ago?

Bishop: Honestly, I'm reminded about it every day because the kids that I coach always ask, 'Coach, what does it feel like to be in the Heisman race?' In my office, I have pictures of me at the Heisman ceremony and pictures of me holding the trophy, and pictures with Ricky Williams when he was named the winner. For me, I feel that I should've won. With all due respect to Ricky, I feel like I should've won. The support staff that I had made me better and made me focus week in and week out, and I'll always give credit to those guys and the coaching staff, because without them, I'm nothing and I know that and respect that, but I definitely deep down inside know that the outcome should've been different. But I'm also happy for Ricky and his accomplishment. I can't take anything away from him. I know I put up a great fight for it, and I'm definitely proud of that. You can't win them all, but that was definitely won I wish I could've pulled off.

Fritchen: You really were the first dual-threat quarterback in the history of college football. How much pride do you take in that?

Bishop: You know, what's funny is you always get a glimpse on ESPN and people have different opinions and people say Tim Tebow and all kinds of things, and I say to myself, 'No, that's not true, man, because what we did in 1997 and 1998, nobody was doing that, and we set the foundation for that.' Coach Snyder put in a plan, and he was blessed with my talent to come in and get that plan rolling and we started a fire. We started a fire. Then everybody else wanted to jump on that bandwagon, but you have to have the right athletes to make that bandwagon roll.

There's no doubt in my mind that I'm a trailblazer. In the beginning, I was upset because I wasn't getting the credit for it. I wasn't getting credit for the great things we did as a program and the numbers we put up. People forget we were putting up 70 points and led the nation in scoring. People forget about a lot of things that I don't forget about. To sit back and think about it, I hear some of the comments from people who really don't do the research and laugh and say, 'Someday, when they do the right research, they'll say, 'Hold up, there were people before this happened.'' I'm so proud to be a part of that conversation now. One of the photos said I was a dual-threat quarterback and it made me smile, because finally someone is giving us credit for what we did.

"Best decision I made in my life."

Earned it @7MichaelBishop pic.twitter.com/1bMr8AUm7D
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) January 9, 2023

Fritchen: You're a young boy born in Galveston, Texas. You pick up a football for the first time. What would you tell your younger self?

Bishop: I'd tell my younger self that when they doubt you, prove them wrong every day. I'd tell him, you are the best and keep working hard, and you can have a bright future, and one day you'll be a Hall of Famer.

Fritchen: What have you learned most about your life journey?

Bishop: My life journey? I'm glad you asked that question. I just spoke to my team yesterday and told them about the journey. They always say the journey is the reward. You're going to win some games and lose some games, but what you learn in those battles and wars are going to make or break you. You cannot let it break you. There are some things you're not going to be able to control and some things you can control. There are some times you'll give it your all and fall short. You've got to go through it to grow through it. I tell my kids and stand by it that when it's tough, you're going to see character, when it's tough, you're going to see your determination, when it's tough, you're going to find yourself. If you accomplish all that then your reality is real because life is not a joke and if you can't fight back in life, you can't fight back in this journey.

My journey has taken me all over the world. My journey has taken me to Europe and Canada and to be one of the best college football players to walk the earth. The only part about my journey that I wish I could tweak a little bit is that I wish that I could've been given a shot at the NFL level. That's the part of my journey I wish I could go back and change a little bit. But overall, my journey for me is remarkable. It's outstanding not only because I was able to play the game and make a living from the game, but I was also able to meet some great people along my journey and people who I would've never met in my life had I not been on my journey.

My journey has allowed me to inspire and impact and be of service to young men, and young student-athletes. That alone makes me feel great. I can win all the awards in the world and be a College Football Hall of Famer, but how do I make the next young man feel? If I have a chance to speak to the next young man, what kind of impact am I making on that young man? That's what the journey is about. That's what makes the journey remarkable. As I said before, I've had a heck of a journey.

Fritchen: Aside from football, what are you most proud of?

Bishop: Aside from football, I am proud of who I am because football can make or break you, but if I take football out of the equation, I smile every day. Even when I don't feel like smiling, I smile every day, and I find a way to respect people every day and to inspire. That's what I'm proud of. I could've easily be like some of the other players who have no respect and no regard to life. They blame other people for their situation. For me, I take it on the chin and keep moving forward because I know there's something even better in store for me. I have to be right with myself in order to be right with other people.

Fritchen: If there was a K-State Mount Rushmore, you'd be on it. K-State and Michael Bishop go hand in hand. What has K-State meant to your life?

Bishop: K-State has meant a huge deal to my life, to my everyday walk, to my future as well, because K-State gave me a chance, and Coach Snyder gave me a chance, an opportunity to play football. They gave me an opportunity to be a quarterback, a leader, and a champion. For that, I'll always be indebted to Kansas State University because they believed in me. To the fans of Kansas State, they believed in me. To the student body of Kansas State, they believed in me. To my teammates down to the equipment staff and the trainers, they believed in me, and I'm forever thankful for that and Kansas State University.

I just want to say in closing Kansas State University, the people, the family, EMAW, that'll always have a spot in my heart for the simple fact of the love and the want to be the best week in and week out. For all the coaches who've been a part of my journey, I respect them all, because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that without all that and all those pieces, I'm just Mike. When you put those pieces together with Mike, then you get a College Football Hall of Famer, and I'm proud of it.

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