Kansas State Wildcats

Intercollegiate sports teams of Kansas State University
the athletic teams of Kansas State University

The Kansas State Wildcats (variously "Kansas State", "K State", or "KSU") are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are generally used as complementary colors. Kansas State participates in the NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) and is a member of the Big 12 Conference since 1996. Previously, Kansas State competed in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference until 1912; the Big Eight Conference from 1913 to 1928; and the Big Eight Conference from 1928 to 1996 (known as the Big Six from 1928 to 1947 and the Big Seven from 1947 to 1957).

Kansas State offers fourteen sports at a varsity level. As of May 2018, Kansas State has won more than 80 conference championships through the years, not counting titles captured in the old Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association (see chart below). Kansas State has not won any team NCAA championships, but has several individual national champions. The Kansas State athletic department is one of a limited number in the United States, and the only one in Kansas, that operates with no monetary contribution from the broader academic institution. The most recent change in athletic teams offered at Kansas State occurred when the school began a women's soccer program in the fall of 2016, and discontinued women's equestrian at the conclusion of the 2015–16 season.

Athletic competition began within the first decade after the founding of Kansas State Agricultural College in 1863, as students began organizing and playing games of baseball against locals from Manhattan. Beginning in 1890, a baseball game between the faculty and the senior class became an annual feature of graduation day. A baseball match against St. Mary's College followed on May 26, 1894. By the turn of the century, Kansas State was competing in the Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association, along with the University of Kansas and other state schools. Adopting a more organized approach to athletics, in 1911 an "athletic committee" was created at the school to set policy and schedule contests, among other duties. Indeed, for many years the Wildcats spent far less on athletics than any other Big Eight school. In the 2007–2008 school year, Kansas State was the only school in the nation to have a consensus All America in both football (Jordy Nelson) and men's basketball (Michael Beasley).

Athletics at Kansas State University are administered by the University's Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. The department is headed by the Athletic Director. Director Years NotesZ. G. Clevenger 1916–1920 First Athletic Director, member of College Football Hall of FameMike Ahearn 1920–1947 Considered "Father of Kansas State Athletics"Thurlo McCrady 1947–1950 Larry Mullins 1951–1955 Bebe Lee 1956–1968 Member of National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of FameErnie Barrett 1969–1975 Known as "Mr. K State"Johny "Jersey" Jermier 1976–1977 DeLoss Dodds 1978–1981 Resigned to become athletic director at the University of TexasDick Towers 1981–1985 Larry Travis 1985–1988 Steve Miller 1988–1991 Hired Bill Snyder as football coach in December 1988Milt Richards 1991–1993 Max Urick 1993–2001 Tim Weiser 2001–2008 Resigned from K State to become the Big 12's deputy commissionerBob Krause 2008–2009 John Currie 2009–2017 Laird Veatch March–April 2017 InterimGene Taylor 2017–present

The Wildcats call Tointon Family Stadium home. The team's head coach is Pete Hughes. Kansas State's baseball team officially began play in 1897. The Wildcats earned one of the school's first varsity championship in 1907 under coach Mike Ahearn. The Wildcats went on to win a Missouri Valley Conference championship in 1928, and Big Six Conference championships in 1930 and 1933. The school's most recent championship was the Big 12 Conference regular season championship in 2013. Kansas State's best finish at the Big 12 Conference baseball tournament is a runner up finish in the 2008 tournament. The Wildcats have traditionally not been competitive on a national scale, but in 2009 the team made its first appearance in the NCAA tournament, and it has returned three times since. Former coach Brad Hill's teams also earned the school's first national rankings in the USA Today/ESPN Coach's Poll in the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Other milestones in the team's history include Earl Woods, the father of golfer Tiger Woods, becoming the first African American baseball player in the Big Seven Conference in 1952, as well as all time coaching wins leader Mike Clark winning the Big Eight Coach of the Year award in 1990.

The men's and women's basketball teams play their home games in Bramlage Coliseum, nicknamed the "Octagon of Doom".

Kansas State's men's basketball team began competition in 1902. The program has a long history of success. The first two major conference titles captured by the school were won in the sport, in 1917 and 1919, in the Missouri Valley Conference. Kansas State has gone on to capture 19 major conference crowns in the sport. The program has also appeared in 31 NCAA basketball tournaments. Kansas State lost to the University of Kentucky for the national championship in 1951, and has reached the Final Four four times, the Elite Eight 13 times, and the Sweet Sixteen 17 times. K State has finished ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll or Coaches Poll on nine occasions (most recently in 2010), and in the final top 25 polls 21 total times. When Street & Smith's Annual listed the 100 greatest college basketball programs of all time in 2005, K State ranked 22nd. After a lengthy period with little success during the 1990s and 2000s, Kansas State returned to winning under head coaches Frank Martin (2007–2012) and Bruce Weber (2012–present). Following a twelve year absence, the team was invited to the 2008 NCAA tournament, and has now appeared in the tournament 9 of the past 12 seasons. Highlights during this era include winning two Big 12 regular season conference championships (2012–13 and 2018–19), and freshman Michael Beasley being named an All American and Big 12 Conference Player of the Year in 2008. The 2009–10 team spent much of the year ranked in the Top 10 of the national polls and finished second in the Big 12. That team went on to advance to the Elite Eight of the 2010 NCAA tournament, a feat the program repeated in 2018 and 2023. On March 21, 2022, KSU athletic director Gene Taylor announced that Baylor associate head coach Jerome Tang had been named the new head men's basketball coach for the Wildcats, starting with the 2022–23 season.

Kansas State's women's basketball team began intercollegiate competition in 1968. The team is among the top 15 all time winningest programs in the NCAA. The women's team has participated in 21 total NCAA basketball tournaments and AIAW tournaments (pre NCAA), the second most appearances in the Big 12 Conference. K State has finished ranked in the Top 25 of the AP Poll twelve times, including three rankings in the Top 10 (1984, 2003, 2004). Following the 2005–2006 season, Kansas State was crowned champion of the Women's National Invitation tournament. The current head coach is Jeff Mittie.

Kansas State's football team officially began play in 1896 with a 14–0 loss to Fort Riley on November 28, 1896. The program had some shining moments in the 1920s and 1930s, but by 1989 the school was statistically the worst program in NCAA Division I with a record of 299–509–41. The team plays its home games at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and the KSU Marching Band (also known as the Pride of Wildcat Land) performs at all home games, selected away games and all bowl games. The current coach is Chris Klieman, who succeeded Snyder upon his second retirement at the conclusion of the 2018 season. Through five seasons, Klieman has a record of 39 24.

Kansas State began competing in track and field in 1904. The team has won 23 major conference championships. Its athletes have also achieved considerable national success. Through the end of the 2015–2016 season, K State athletes have won individual NCAA national championships 37 times. Twenty four Kansas State athletes have attended 15 Olympic Games, most recently at the 2016 Summer Olympics, and have won eight medals. The head coach of the program since 1992 is Cliff Rovelto. Rovelto has won a number of coach of the year awards during his tenure at Kansas State, including 2015 Big 12 Coach of the Year for women's indoor track and field. He also served as head coach for the U. S. Track & Field team at the 2011 Pan American Games, and as an assistant coach for the U. S. team at a number of other competitions including the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2005 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki. Former coach Ward Haylett, who is enshrined in the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, left a strong imprint on the Kansas State program. Haylett was head coach at the school from 1928 to 1963.

The team currently plays in Morgan Family Arena, north of the main campus adjacent to the football stadium and basketball arena. Kansas State's women's volleyball team began intercollegiate competition in 1974. The team is among the all time winningest programs in the NCAA. As of the close of the 2017 season, the team has participated in 17 NCAA tournaments, including ten consecutive tournaments from 1996 to 2005. K State also participated in the AIAW tournament in 1977. K State has finished ranked in the final top twenty of the AVCA poll six times, and in the top 25 on eleven occasions. The team most recently participated in the NCAA tournament in 2016. The current head coach is Jason Mansfielf, hired in January 2023, replacing Susie Fritz. Fritz had led the Wildcats to several NCAA tournament appearances and the school's first conference title in volleyball in 2003. As of the close of the 2008 season, Fritz also holds the second highest winning percentage among all K State's volleyball coaches after compiling a record of 148–70 (.679). In eight seasons as head coach, through the end of the 2008 season, Fritz has coached six All Americans.

Kansas State rugby plays in the Heart of America conference against traditional rivals from the Big 12 north such as Kansas and Missouri. The Wildcats previously played college rugby in the Central Division, where they were champions in the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons. In the 2010–11 season Kansas State reached the sweet 16 round of the national playoffs and finished the season ranked 8th. The Wildcats best season was in 1981, when they reached the national semifinals.

In July 2017, Kansas State football player Scott Frantz announced to ESPN that he is gay. When the Wildcats opened their season on September 2, 2017, Frantz became the first openly gay college football player to play at the NCAA's highest level.

Kansas State historically has been welcoming to all races. The university has been open to enrollment by African Americans since its founding in 1863,

In the winter of 1951–1952, Kansas State's Gene Wilson broke the conference color barrier in basketball, together with LaVannes Squires at the University of Kansas.