‘Stay Hungry and Stay Humble’
May 23, 2023 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The 1,624th day on the job finds Chris Klieman standing on the field on the outside portion of the new Shamrock Indoor Practice Facility, where Kansas State coaches coach and players practice with eyes set on the 2023 Big 12 Championship. Inside, the 2022 Big 12 Championship banner is new, the 2022 Sugar Bowl banner is new as well, and the white-walled $32.5 million facility with a 65-foot roof and a 130-yard field gives way to an outdoor oasis on a gorgeous Monday evening in Manhattan.
Hundreds of purple-clad fans sit in folding chairs and stand across the turf, listening intently as Klieman, entering his fifth season as head coach, addresses the successes of the past season, and the road that awaits the Wildcats in the fall.
"Stay hungry and stay humble," he says. "Pretty simple."
The buzz carries into the Manhattan air like a warm summer breeze that tickles the flags atop the goalposts at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Chris Klieman. Eight more years. Thirty victories. Three bowl games. One Big 12 Championship. Four core values. One championship culture.
Outstanding.
The ink dried May 15 on a new eight-year extension that'll keep him at the helm of the program through the 2030 season. 2030 doesn't seem like a real year. Not yet. This four-year ride to this point seems as real as the day he was hired on December 10, 2018 — the day he accepted the torch to carry on the success of a program long-led by Hall-of-Famer Bill Snyder.
Klieman is perceived as the No. 1 coach in the Big 12 Conference by On3. Klieman is listed as the 12th-best coach in the Power Five by CBS.
Back away from the stage where 55-year-old Klieman stands, holding a microphone, addressing fans at the Manhattan Catbacker event. Back away to give the moment true focus, to capture everything in living color, and it's easy to see why the native of Waterloo, Iowa, is the toast of the Little Apple.
Klieman, who won four FCS titles at North Dakota State, led K-State to its first 10-win season in a decade with a 31-28 overtime victory against No. 3 TCU in the Big 12 title game.
"Sometime I'm going to sit and watch it," he says. "I've never watched the game. I hear people talk about their heart rate was up. Best goal-line stand as Eli Huggins and Daniel Green made big-time stops. When they made that stop, I looked at Ty Zentner, and Ty had that smile on his face. To me, I knew if we could get one first down there, it was going to be a chip shot for him indoors.
"It was kind of euphoria after that. It was a blur. Probably the greatest feeling in football I've had."
Klieman owns a 5-3 record against top-10 Associated Press Top 25 opponents since 2019, the most by a Big 12 program over the span.
K-State had a school-record three top-10 victories last season.
K-State finished No. 9 in the College Football Playoff Top 25, the program's second-highest ranking ever in the CFP era and the highest-ever in the final poll. The Wildcats finished No. 14 in the final AP Top 25 and AFCA Coaches Poll, their highest final ranking in each since 2012.
Klieman recounts the road to the Big 12 title — the setback against Tulane (which beat USC in the Cotton Bowl) and the road wins at No. 6 Oklahoma, Iowa State, Baylor and West Virginia.
"The margin for error is so small and you've got to create some of your own breaks and get some breaks," he says, "but you've got to have a burning desire to find a way to win and our guys did that most of the year."
He adds: "For us to get four conference road wins is why we were playing at AT&T Stadium."
The emotional part of Klieman's address featured the Shamrock Indoor Practice Facility. Thirty minutes before the team loaded up the buses to head to Manhattan Regional Airport to depart to Arlington for the Big 12 Championship Game, Klieman rounded up his fifth- and sixth-year seniors. He said, "Guys, I have a special treat for you."
"We brought the guys in to let them walk around and take pictures," he says. "We saw guys who'd put their blood, sweat and tears out there on the field at The Bill for five and six years, come in and say, 'We got this done.'"
And K-State got it done in riveting fashion.
One of the best college football games ever?
"That's what they tell me," Klieman says.
Now K-State prepares for summer workouts and the road ahead.
"We have nine sixth-year seniors that've seen everything," Klieman says. "When you start with the culture of the locker room with those guys, they'll accept nothing but the standard. The Power of belief and power of player ownership — they're going to own the locker room.
"Does it mean we're going to be successful and win the Big 12 again? Time will tell. Our locker room is as strong as it's ever been, and it's not a cliché. We have kids who love each other and who'll go to battle for each other."
He pauses.
"The message is pretty simple: What you did yesterday pales in comparison to what you can do today. It's time to go to work."
The 1,624th day on the job finds Chris Klieman standing on the field on the outside portion of the new Shamrock Indoor Practice Facility, where Kansas State coaches coach and players practice with eyes set on the 2023 Big 12 Championship. Inside, the 2022 Big 12 Championship banner is new, the 2022 Sugar Bowl banner is new as well, and the white-walled $32.5 million facility with a 65-foot roof and a 130-yard field gives way to an outdoor oasis on a gorgeous Monday evening in Manhattan.
Hundreds of purple-clad fans sit in folding chairs and stand across the turf, listening intently as Klieman, entering his fifth season as head coach, addresses the successes of the past season, and the road that awaits the Wildcats in the fall.
"Stay hungry and stay humble," he says. "Pretty simple."
The buzz carries into the Manhattan air like a warm summer breeze that tickles the flags atop the goalposts at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Chris Klieman. Eight more years. Thirty victories. Three bowl games. One Big 12 Championship. Four core values. One championship culture.
Outstanding.
The ink dried May 15 on a new eight-year extension that'll keep him at the helm of the program through the 2030 season. 2030 doesn't seem like a real year. Not yet. This four-year ride to this point seems as real as the day he was hired on December 10, 2018 — the day he accepted the torch to carry on the success of a program long-led by Hall-of-Famer Bill Snyder.
Klieman is perceived as the No. 1 coach in the Big 12 Conference by On3. Klieman is listed as the 12th-best coach in the Power Five by CBS.
Back away from the stage where 55-year-old Klieman stands, holding a microphone, addressing fans at the Manhattan Catbacker event. Back away to give the moment true focus, to capture everything in living color, and it's easy to see why the native of Waterloo, Iowa, is the toast of the Little Apple.
Klieman, who won four FCS titles at North Dakota State, led K-State to its first 10-win season in a decade with a 31-28 overtime victory against No. 3 TCU in the Big 12 title game.
"Sometime I'm going to sit and watch it," he says. "I've never watched the game. I hear people talk about their heart rate was up. Best goal-line stand as Eli Huggins and Daniel Green made big-time stops. When they made that stop, I looked at Ty Zentner, and Ty had that smile on his face. To me, I knew if we could get one first down there, it was going to be a chip shot for him indoors.
"It was kind of euphoria after that. It was a blur. Probably the greatest feeling in football I've had."
Klieman owns a 5-3 record against top-10 Associated Press Top 25 opponents since 2019, the most by a Big 12 program over the span.
K-State had a school-record three top-10 victories last season.
K-State finished No. 9 in the College Football Playoff Top 25, the program's second-highest ranking ever in the CFP era and the highest-ever in the final poll. The Wildcats finished No. 14 in the final AP Top 25 and AFCA Coaches Poll, their highest final ranking in each since 2012.
Klieman recounts the road to the Big 12 title — the setback against Tulane (which beat USC in the Cotton Bowl) and the road wins at No. 6 Oklahoma, Iowa State, Baylor and West Virginia.
"The margin for error is so small and you've got to create some of your own breaks and get some breaks," he says, "but you've got to have a burning desire to find a way to win and our guys did that most of the year."
He adds: "For us to get four conference road wins is why we were playing at AT&T Stadium."
The emotional part of Klieman's address featured the Shamrock Indoor Practice Facility. Thirty minutes before the team loaded up the buses to head to Manhattan Regional Airport to depart to Arlington for the Big 12 Championship Game, Klieman rounded up his fifth- and sixth-year seniors. He said, "Guys, I have a special treat for you."
"We brought the guys in to let them walk around and take pictures," he says. "We saw guys who'd put their blood, sweat and tears out there on the field at The Bill for five and six years, come in and say, 'We got this done.'"
And K-State got it done in riveting fashion.
One of the best college football games ever?
"That's what they tell me," Klieman says.
Now K-State prepares for summer workouts and the road ahead.
"We have nine sixth-year seniors that've seen everything," Klieman says. "When you start with the culture of the locker room with those guys, they'll accept nothing but the standard. The Power of belief and power of player ownership — they're going to own the locker room.
"Does it mean we're going to be successful and win the Big 12 again? Time will tell. Our locker room is as strong as it's ever been, and it's not a cliché. We have kids who love each other and who'll go to battle for each other."
He pauses.
"The message is pretty simple: What you did yesterday pales in comparison to what you can do today. It's time to go to work."
Players Mentioned
K-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference at Colorado
Thursday, February 26
K-State Rowing | Media Day
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Rowing | Weights Practice
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Tennis | Weekend Recap vs Old Dominion & Minnesota
Tuesday, February 24
