How K-State honored Dana Dimel with helmet sticker, throwback formation at Rate Bowl
The Kansas State football team paid homage to one of its beloved alums before, during and after a 44-41 victory over Rutgers at the Rate Bowl on Thursday in Phoenix.
Dana Dimel, a former K-State student who recently died at age 62 after spending decades working as an assistant coach under Bill Snyder, was with the Wildcats in spirit.
K-State players wore a special sticker on the back of their helmets, which displayed Dimel’s initials. And when the Wildcats were running out the clock in the fourth quarter they lined up in his famous “clown car” formation rather than the traditional “victory” formation in which the quarterback takes a knee instead of trying to gain yards.
Dimel was one of the first coaches, at any level, to popularize a quarterback sneak in which multiple players line up behind the QB with the sole purpose of shoving him forward as he attempts to gain short yardage.
It worked almost flawlessly when he was calling plays as Kansas State’s offensive coordinator.
Klieman decided to honor him by bringing back the formation in this game.
“That was a tribute to Dana Dimel,” Klieman said, “who so many people at K-State know and love really well. I didn’t know Dana exceptionally well, but I see the (people) that spent a lot of time with Dana, and that was a tribute. That’s why we got in that formation the last couple plays, as a tribute to Dana and his family.”
Dimel was a longtime college football coach who spent 20 years working at Kansas State under Snyder. He died in his sleep earlier this month at the age of 62.
Dimel is perhaps best known as a head coach, as he led football programs at Wyoming (1997-99), Houston (2000-02) and UTEP (2018-23). But he was strongly connected to K-State as an offensive coordinator. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in Manhattan during the 1987-88 season and remained on staff as an assistant coach until 1996, when he left to become a head coach for the first time. Dimel returned to K-State for one season in 2005 and then called plays for the legendary Snyder from 2009 to 2017.
The Wildcats enjoyed many successful seasons during his final stint in Manhattan. K-State played in eight bowl games during that time and won a Big 12 championship in 2012. Dimel oversaw offenses that were captained by Collin Klein, Jake Waters and Jesse Ertz.
K-State fans have mourned his death. This was a way to celebrate his life.
This story was originally published December 27, 2024 at 10:08 AM.