Kansas State has added another non-conference game to its 2029 football schedule, and this one will bring Sam Houston State to Manhattan.
The Wildcats are set to host the Bearkats on Sept. 19 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, according to the athletic department. It will be the third time Kansas State has welcomed Sam Houston State to town.
The timing of the announcement comes as K-State prepares for a new era under Collin Klein. The former Wildcats quarterback is getting his first shot as head coach after spending the last two seasons as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M.
Kansas State is coming off a 6-6 season and was picked by the media to finish eighth in the Big 12. Avery Johnson, now entering his third season as the starter, is leading the offense.
There’s also some preseason recognition starting to roll in for three Wildcats who represented the program at Big 12 Media Days last month in Frisco, Texas.
Joe Jackson, Avery Johnson and John Pastore all landed on national award watch lists at their positions. Johnson and Jackson, who plays running back, were named to the Maxwell Award list, which goes to the nation’s most outstanding player. Pastore made the Outland Trophy list, given to the country’s top offensive lineman.
On the basketball side, former Kansas State guard CJ Jones has found his next stop. Jones was granted a fifth year of eligibility and announced late Saturday night that he’ll continue his career at Pacific.
Jones played two seasons for the Wildcats, averaging 4.7 points across 64 games. Pacific went 9-24 last season in the West Coast Conference, and the move marks the third college stop for Jones after he started at University of Illinois-Chicago.
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Collin Klein Faces Early Doubt As Kansas State Waits On Avery Johnson
Collin Klein is back in charge at Kansas State, and the reunion comes with the kind of expectation that follows a familiar name returning to Manhattan. His past success with the program gives the Wildcats a built-in level of optimism, especially with quarterback Avery Johnson still viewed as a key piece of the offense after a difficult statistical season.
Still, the early national view of Klein is not especially flattering. He is stepping into the job without prior head coaching experience, and that has already shaped the way some around the sport are judging the hire as Kansas State heads toward the new season. For a team that believes Klein can help unlock more from Johnson, the question is whether the local confidence translates quickly enough to quiet the outside skepticism. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Is Already Adjusting To A Rule Change Fans Need To See
Kansas State is already living in a slightly different college basketball world after the NCAA approved a new eligibility framework that can extend an athletes runway in the sport. The rule hinges on a player turning 19 after Sept. 1, and it has the Wildcats rethinking how they talk about roster construction, development and how long players can realistically stay in school.
The change is showing up in plain sight, too, with K-State moving away from the old freshman, sophomore, junior, senior and redshirt freshman labels in favor of first-year through fifth-year player classifications. Former Wildcats guard CJ Jones is one of the players affected, having been granted a fifth year of eligibility and preparing to keep his career going at Pacific, a reminder that this shift is already reshaping the path for players beyond Manhattan. [Read more 🡒]