Ron Prince

1969—

College football coach

When Ron Prince became head football coach at Kansas State University, he made sporting news on several fronts. At age 36, he was the second youngest coach in Division 1-A NCAA football. He also became only the fifth African-American head coach in the division. But Prince's age and skin color receded in importance in comparison to reports of what Prince had inherited: the K-State Wildcats, a former powerhouse team that had sunk to the bottom of the Big 12 Conference rankings. Sports analysts nationwide predicted that the team would again finish last in 2006. Prince had other plans. With a few bold staff and team changes, an intensified training routine, and an unshakeable belief in winning, Prince led the Wildcats to a winning season and an appearance in the Texas Bowl. This success stunned both media and fans, but it was in line with Prince's enthusiastic optimism. "I told the players the first day that there was no time in the future I was looking forward to more than right now," he told USA Today. "I wanted them to understand…we were going to do everything possible to win, and win a championship, this year." He came close enough to turn K-State around and become one of the most admired new coaches in college football.

Bit by the Football Bug Early in Life

Ron Prince was born to Ernest and Georgeanne Prince on September 18, 1969, in Omaha, Nebraska, but raised in Junction City, Kansas, just 20 miles from Kansas State University. By high school, Prince had grown into a 300-pound defensive lineman for Junction City High School. An honors student in the classroom, he brought his intellect to the field. "He was a student of the game. You could tell he was interested in all the whys and wherefores," recalled one of Prince's high school coaches to the Sporting News. After graduating in 1988, Prince went on to Dodge City Community College, where he once again shined both academically and athletically. In the classroom, he was named an Academic All-American and made the National Dean's List. On the field, he earned All-Conference honors as an offensive tackle. After two years, Prince transferred to Appalachian State University in North Carolina. He helped the school's Division 1-AA football team win a Southern Conference championship and an appearance in the 1991 NCAA playoffs. The following year, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in history.

After briefly considering a career in law, he "got hit by the bug," he recalled to the Kansas City Star, referring to his desire to coach football. Unable to find a paying coaching position, he decided to get his foot on the field by volunteering as an assistant coach back at Dodge City. Times were tough. An assistant coach let Prince stay in his basement while he worked two jobs. "I worked at the Parks and Rec lining fields and getting the trash out of the trash cans. Then I'd go over and help the coaches before going to work at a local business to try and survive," he told the Kansas City Star. Prince's life as a pauper soon paid off, and he landed a series of full-time coaching positions at Division 1-AA schools. In 1993 he joined the coaching staff of Alabama A&M. In 1994 he moved to South Carolina State as offensive line coach where he helped the Bulldogs win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the Heritage Bowl. In 1995 Prince became the offensive line coach at James Madison University. During his tenure, the Dukes reached the top-25 rankings and a NCAA playoff appearance. In 1998 Prince joined the staff of Head Coach Pete Mangurian at Cornell University. This time his move was prompted by more than just a great job offer. "[Pete] had been a great line coach, which I wanted to be, but I also wanted to learn how to make that jump from being a line coach to maybe someday being a head coach," Prince told the Daily Progress.

A high achiever who has long had the habit of reading a book a week, Prince sought to improve himself both as a coach and as a leader. From 1996 to 2000, he attended the NFL's Minority Fellowship training camps which allows minority coaches to work at NFL training camps. Through this program he spent summers with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Washington Redskins, the Atlanta Falcons, and the New York Giants. Prince also attended the NCAA Coaches' Academy which is designed to help minority coaches land head coaching jobs. Of the three-day program, Prince told the Columbus Dispatch, "Everything I had done to prepare myself for 14 years was topped by those three days. It was the single most important program that helped me prepare for a head-coaching job."

Rebuilt K-State's Reputation

In 2001 Prince was hired as the offensive line coach for the University of Virginia's Division 1-A Cavaliers. Two years later, he added the title of offensive coordinator. His time at the school was marked by achievements. The team appeared in four consecutive bowls and the offensive line set 12 individual and school records. By 2004 the offensive line was the best in their conference, the Atlantic Coast Conference, and was labeled number three in the nation by the Sporting News. Over his four-year tenure in Virginia, Prince saw ten of his offensive players get drafted by the NFL. Despite his success, it was still not the job Prince longed for. Little did he know that back in his home state the head coach of Kansas State University, Bill Sndyer, one of college ball's most revered coaches, was stepping down. Before he knew it, Prince was stepping onto a K-State plane to interview for the position.

Tim Weiser, K-State's athletic director, had originally planned on a 90-minute interview with Prince, but that soon stretched into more than four hours as Prince impressed Weiser with his knowledge of Wildcats football. "I thought I had a pretty good sense of why [K-State] was where it was. And I thought I had, more importantly, some answers," Prince told USA Today. Weiser agreed and in August of 2005, Prince became the 33rd head coach of the Kansas State Wildcats. He also became the school's first African-American coach and only the fifth black head coach in the division. However, Prince did not hide the fact that he accepted the job to coach football, not to break racial barriers. "People ask about what it's like to be a black coach. I've never been any other kind," he quipped to the Kansas City Star. "But I'll say this, emphatically, right now, from this day forward, that the only color I hope they'll be talking about this program is purple," referring to the team's color. He would soon make that hope come true.

At a Glance …

Born in 1969, in Omaha, NE; married: Zoe; children: Deuce, James, Grace, and John. Education: Appalachian State, Boone, NC, history, 1992.

Career: Dodge City Community College, volunteer assistant coach, Dodge City, KS, 1992; Alabama A&M, assistant coach, Normal, AL, 1993; South Carolina State University, offensive line coach, Orangeburg, SC, 1994; James Madison University, offensive line coach, Harrisonburg, VA, 1995-97; Cornell University, offensive line coach, Ithaca, NY, 1998-2000; University of Virginia, offensive line coach and offensive coordinator, Charlottesville, VA, 2001-05; Kansas State University, head coach, Manhattan, NY, 2005-.

Awards: NFL Minority Fellowships, Jacksonville Jaguars, 1996; Washington Redskins, 1997; Atlanta Falcons, 1999; New York Giants, 2000.

Addresses: Office—Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506.

Prior to Prince's arrival, the Wildcats had floundered through two disappointing seasons, and pundits said that the team would repeat those losses in 2006. Ignoring predictions, Prince set about turning around the team. He first reached out to players. He told the Kansas City Star, "When you're a college player, you're looking for leadership, looking for hope, you're looking for someone to say this is the path we're going to go on and be confident about it." That path included a post-summer physical conditioning test that all players had to pass before hitting the field. It also included new, young staff members including two 30-something coordinators from the NFL. However, Prince's boldest move was replacing the senior quarterback with a freshman. The changes stirred up a lot of sports news commentary, but the results created even more. The Wildcats finished the season in second place in their division, with seven wins, six losses. They also earned a spot in the inaugural Texas Bowl, a major accomplishment for a team coming up from the bottom of the ranks. However, the moment that stunned fans and media alike was the upset win over the number four ranked Texas Longhorns. Yet Prince remained characteristically humble. In summing up his inaugural accomplishments, he told the Omaha World-Herald, "We had a nice season. But we have a lot of things we need to improve on to take that next step." By October of 2007, the team was on its way to that next step, having made the college rankings for the first time in four years. Prince was set to turn "nice" into phenomenal.

Sources

Periodicals

The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA), December 5, 2005.

Columbus Dispatch, April 25, 2006.

Kansas City Star, December 1, 2005; December 5, 2005; May 13, 2006.

Omaha World-Herald, August 19, 2007.

USA Today, August 25, 2006, p. 9C.

On-line

"KSU to Name Prince Head Coach," Sporting News, http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=40465 (September 1, 2007).

"Ron Prince Bio," K-State Sports, www.kstatesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=3070&SPID=212&DB_OEM_ID=400&ATCLID=220015&Q_SEASOn=2006 (September 1, 2007).