Kansas State University Athletics
Kynard, Snyder Named to 2024 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Induction Class
Jul 03, 2024 | Football, Track & Field, Athletics
MANHATTAN, Kansas – In an announcement by the State of Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, former K-State track and field standout Erik Kynard and former K-State football All-American Sean Snyder have been selected as members of the 60th Anniversary Class of 2024. The induction class of 2024 will be enshrined in ceremonies on Sunday, October 13 in the Sunflower Room  of the Hotel Topeka City Center.
Also as part of the 2024 induction class are former K-State football assistant coach Mark Mangino and K-State graduate and Paralympic Bronze Medalist Kevin Saunders. The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame now includes 60 representatives with ties to K-State, while the twelve-member 2023 induction class raises the total number of Kansas Sports Hall of Fame inductees to 329.
ERIK KYNARD - Toledo (Ohio) Rogers H.S., 2009 / Kansas State University, 2013
• Two-time Ohio State High School High Jump champion
• 2012 London Olympics Gold Medalist at 7-7 ¾ inches and finished sixth at the 2016 Olympics; Bronze Medalist at World Indoor Championships 2014 and 2016
• Career best jump is 7-9 ⅓ inches
• Back-to-Back NCAA Outdoor Champion in 2012 and 2013
• USTFCCCA Indoor All-American: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; USTFCCCA Outdoor All-American: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; USTFCCCA Midwest Field Athlete of the Year: Indoor 2011, 2012, 2013; Outdoor 2011
MARK MANGINO - New Castle (Pa.) H.S., 1974 / Youngstown State University, 1987
• Began career as a student assistant under Bill Narduzzi and Jim Tressel at Youngstown State. Moved to the high school ranks where he was offensive coordinator at Geneva (Pa.) and head coach at Lincoln (Pa.) high schools
• Returned to college football as an assistant coach under KSHOF inductee Bill Snyder in 1991 at Kansas State. Served as an assistant coach under Bob Stoops at Oklahoma from 1999 to 2001, where he won the Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant in 2000
• Served as head coach at the University of Kansas from 2002 to 2009. Led KU to a 50-48 overall record and four bowl games, including a win in the 2007 Orange Bowl over Virginia Tech
KEVIN SAUNDERS - Downs H.S., 1974 / Kansas State University, 1978
• Began competing in paralympic style events following injuries suffered in an explosion in 1981
• Two-time paralympic bronze medalist. Won the bronze medal in the men's pentathlon in the 1988 Seoul Paralympic Games; also competed in the discus and javelin in 1988. Won the bronze medal in the men's pentathlon in 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games; also competed in the discus, javelin, and shot put in 1992
• Also competed in the USA Games and the Pan American Games
• Named to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition in 1989 by George H.W. Bush and reappointed to Council by Bill Clinton
• Became a motivational speaker and author while competing
• Named the 1995 K-State Department of Agricultural Economics Distinguished Alumni
• Inducted to the Adaptive Sports USA Hall of Fame in 2016
SEAN SNYDER – Greenville (Texas) H.S., 1988 / Kansas State University, 1994
• Played one collegiate football season at Iowa before transferring to Kansas State
• Played for KSHOF inductee and father Bill Snyder. Named 1991 Big Eight Defensive Newcomer of the Year as a punter. Consensus first-team All-America selection in 1992. Two-time All-Conference selection in 1991 and 1992.
• Set a school record in single punt yardage with 3,572 and punt average with 44.7 in 1992
• Spent twenty-six seasons as coach and administrator at Kansas State. Two-time Special Teams Coordinator of the Year selection in 2015 and 2017
• Also coached at Southern California, Illinois and Kansas
• Named to the K-State football Ring of Honor in 2002. Inducted to the K-State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016
• The Snyders became the first father-son combo to be selected for the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame
The delegates from K-State are joined in the induction Class of 2024 by former Emporia State baseball player and head coach Dave Bingham; former Leavenworth High School and Butler County Community College track and field athlete Melvin Lester; former Wichita East High School and Kansas swimmer Ron Neugent; former Clay Center High School and Kansas baseball and track and field athlete Kelly Rankin; former Kansas track and field athlete Scott Russell; former Nebraska and Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro offensive lineman Will Shields; former Topeka-Hayden High School and Kansas men's basketball player and Wichita State and Maryland head basketball coach Mark Turgeon; former Fort Hays State women's basketball player Annette Wiles.
Online ticket sales for the 2024 Induction Ceremony begin on Monday, July 15, at www.kshof.org. For ticket packages and sponsorship opportunities, please call 316-641-0162.
Also as part of the 2024 induction class are former K-State football assistant coach Mark Mangino and K-State graduate and Paralympic Bronze Medalist Kevin Saunders. The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame now includes 60 representatives with ties to K-State, while the twelve-member 2023 induction class raises the total number of Kansas Sports Hall of Fame inductees to 329.
ERIK KYNARD - Toledo (Ohio) Rogers H.S., 2009 / Kansas State University, 2013
• Two-time Ohio State High School High Jump champion
• 2012 London Olympics Gold Medalist at 7-7 ¾ inches and finished sixth at the 2016 Olympics; Bronze Medalist at World Indoor Championships 2014 and 2016
• Career best jump is 7-9 ⅓ inches
• Back-to-Back NCAA Outdoor Champion in 2012 and 2013
• USTFCCCA Indoor All-American: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; USTFCCCA Outdoor All-American: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; USTFCCCA Midwest Field Athlete of the Year: Indoor 2011, 2012, 2013; Outdoor 2011
MARK MANGINO - New Castle (Pa.) H.S., 1974 / Youngstown State University, 1987
• Began career as a student assistant under Bill Narduzzi and Jim Tressel at Youngstown State. Moved to the high school ranks where he was offensive coordinator at Geneva (Pa.) and head coach at Lincoln (Pa.) high schools
• Returned to college football as an assistant coach under KSHOF inductee Bill Snyder in 1991 at Kansas State. Served as an assistant coach under Bob Stoops at Oklahoma from 1999 to 2001, where he won the Frank Broyles Award as the nation's top assistant in 2000
• Served as head coach at the University of Kansas from 2002 to 2009. Led KU to a 50-48 overall record and four bowl games, including a win in the 2007 Orange Bowl over Virginia Tech
KEVIN SAUNDERS - Downs H.S., 1974 / Kansas State University, 1978
• Began competing in paralympic style events following injuries suffered in an explosion in 1981
• Two-time paralympic bronze medalist. Won the bronze medal in the men's pentathlon in the 1988 Seoul Paralympic Games; also competed in the discus and javelin in 1988. Won the bronze medal in the men's pentathlon in 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games; also competed in the discus, javelin, and shot put in 1992
• Also competed in the USA Games and the Pan American Games
• Named to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition in 1989 by George H.W. Bush and reappointed to Council by Bill Clinton
• Became a motivational speaker and author while competing
• Named the 1995 K-State Department of Agricultural Economics Distinguished Alumni
• Inducted to the Adaptive Sports USA Hall of Fame in 2016
SEAN SNYDER – Greenville (Texas) H.S., 1988 / Kansas State University, 1994
• Played one collegiate football season at Iowa before transferring to Kansas State
• Played for KSHOF inductee and father Bill Snyder. Named 1991 Big Eight Defensive Newcomer of the Year as a punter. Consensus first-team All-America selection in 1992. Two-time All-Conference selection in 1991 and 1992.
• Set a school record in single punt yardage with 3,572 and punt average with 44.7 in 1992
• Spent twenty-six seasons as coach and administrator at Kansas State. Two-time Special Teams Coordinator of the Year selection in 2015 and 2017
• Also coached at Southern California, Illinois and Kansas
• Named to the K-State football Ring of Honor in 2002. Inducted to the K-State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016
• The Snyders became the first father-son combo to be selected for the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame
The delegates from K-State are joined in the induction Class of 2024 by former Emporia State baseball player and head coach Dave Bingham; former Leavenworth High School and Butler County Community College track and field athlete Melvin Lester; former Wichita East High School and Kansas swimmer Ron Neugent; former Clay Center High School and Kansas baseball and track and field athlete Kelly Rankin; former Kansas track and field athlete Scott Russell; former Nebraska and Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro offensive lineman Will Shields; former Topeka-Hayden High School and Kansas men's basketball player and Wichita State and Maryland head basketball coach Mark Turgeon; former Fort Hays State women's basketball player Annette Wiles.
Online ticket sales for the 2024 Induction Ceremony begin on Monday, July 15, at www.kshof.org. For ticket packages and sponsorship opportunities, please call 316-641-0162.
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