K-State Q&A: Is retirement on Gene Taylor’s radar after 9 years with Wildcats?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gene Taylor, 68, says there is no timeline associated with his retirement plans.
- K-State will likely have tweaks to men’s basketball uniforms, as usual.
- K-State’s football roster totals about $19 million and men’s totals about $6 million.
It’s time for another K-State Q&A.
Let’s dive right into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
How much longer will K-Staters have the Gene Taylor Experience as AD? -@cpeitsch1 via X.
When Chris Klieman surprisingly decided to retire as head football coach in December, there was some speculation that Gene Taylor would choose to join him. They are old friends who have worked together at K-State and, before that, North Dakota State. No one would have blamed them for riding off into the proverbial sunset together.
But Taylor has other plans in mind.
I asked him about his future with the Wildcats during an exclusive interview last week, and he said there is no timeline associated with his retirement plans.
“I’m driven,” he said, “to keep pushing as long as I can.”
Taylor is 68. He has been working at K-State since 2017. It’s natural to assume that he may be ready to retire in the not-so-distant future. Heck, he went so far as to admit that he sometimes envies his retired buddies who are currently living stress-free lives.
But he doesn’t like where college athletics is heading in the age of revenue sharing and NIL deals. For that reason, he remains “hungry” to lead K-State athletics and help the Big 12.
“My hunger is to try and use my voice, and the number of years of experience I have, to try and improve the situation somehow,” Taylor said. “I will serve on any committee. I’m glad that I’m able to serve on a couple national committees. I’m trying to do as much as I can.
“Until the minute I walk out that door for good, I want to be able to look back and say, ‘at least Kansas State is in a strong position for whatever happens next.’ I want them to be in the conversation. That’s what is driving me.”
It probably also bothers Taylor that the Wildcats are no longer winning at the rate they were during the early years of his tenure. Taylor has overseen a Big 12 championship in football (2022) and in men’s basketball (2019). He has been a part of six bowl games and two Elite Eights. Baseball, women’s hoops and volleyball have also found success in the postseason under his watch.
But things were different this year. K-State didn’t reach the postseason in baseball, football, men’s basketball or women’s basketball for the first time in two decades. Jerome Tang was fired “for cause.” Klieman retired.
It has been a dreadful academic year for the Wildcats.
Taylor could seemingly do no wrong a few years ago. Now, some fans would probably be happy to see him walk away.
But he doesn’t want to go out like that.
I expect Taylor to continue working until the Wildcats are on a better trajectory ... or they politely ask him to step down if he is unable to deliver a turnaround.
Either way, it seems like he has a few more years in him.
What are the chances we will see new uniforms for either football or men’s basketball next year? -@ksucats32 via X.
The Wildcats usually modify their uniforms in men’s basketball every season. They aren’t always big or notable changes, but they are seldom the exact same from one year to the next. So I imagine K-State will sport a new look under Casey Alexander, even if it’s not in the form of a big, fancy alternate look that features new colors.
It’s a different for football.
Collin Klein has said that he is open to the idea of wearing alternate uniforms from time to time. He has gone so far as to say that K-State is looking into design possibilities for them.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Wildcats will wear anything new on the football field next season, but it’s a possibility. That is more than fans could ever really hope for under Bill Snyder and Klieman, unless you consider white pants and white helmets a radical new look.
I think the Wildcats will wear alternate football uniforms at some point. Texas A&M tried some different looks while Klein was the offensive coordinator. He seemed to like them and realized there is no curse associated with them. But K-State may not wear anything special in Klein’s first season.
There’s maybe a 50% chance we see alternate football uniforms in 2026.
If K-State is spending $19 million on its football roster next season, as you reported earlier this month, does that mean the Wildcats are under the cap or over the cap in terms of paying players? - Steve B. via e-mail.
This is a complicated topic, but I will do my best to explain how K-State’s roster spending relates to revenue sharing and NIL deals.
The “cap” refers to the amount of money that K-State allots to each of its teams via revenue sharing. Next season, schools are allowed to play their student-athletes $21.3 million in any way they choose. A school could decide to devote every cent to football or a majority of it to men’s basketball. But most schools try to give about 70% to football, 20% to men’s basketball and then 10% to every other program on campus.
K-State is one of the few schools that likes to give something to all 16 of its sports, even if it’s only $25,000.
Next year, the Wildcats will allocate around $4.5 million worth of its revenue sharing budget to men’s basketball, with an extra $1.5 million coming in the form of “above the cap” NIL dollars. In football, the split is closer to $15 million in revenue sharing and an extra $4 million in NIL.
The Wildcats are technically over the cap in both sports, at least the way I look at it.
Reasonable people can disagree, but I think K-State has put together a very competitive budget for football. Collin Klein can win with a $19 million roster, even if there are bigger spenders out there. It will be interesting to see how Casey Alexander does with just $6 million. That number likely ranks near the bottom of all Big 12 teams.
Who has the best name on the K-State football team? -@garrettb_1983 via X.
I can’t pick just one!
Sadly, the current roster doesn’t have any truly amazing names like Cody Stufflebean and Jake Stonebraker. But there are some all-name candidates in there.
My favorites: Serious Stinyard, Mikey Bergeron, Monterrio Elston, Navarro Schunke and Holden Bass.
What’s your take on Wendall Gregory? Will he be a 3 down end? Will he have even a better sophomore season with new scenery or will we see a sophomore slump? And who will be the DE on the other side? -@Houcat via X.
My take is that he’s a good football player.
The 6-foot-3 and 255-pound sophomore defensive end is coming off an encouraging season at Oklahoma State, where he earned Defensive Freshman of the Year honors from the Big 12 while making 27 tackles. That included four sacks, a pass breakup and a fumble.
He should play a ton next season for the Wildcats. It probably won’t be every single down, simply because K-State has other talented players on the defensive line and rotating them will keep everyone fresh. But he will have every opportunity to put up big numbers.
It’s too early for me to project starters, but Jordan Allen, Travis Bates and Elijah Hill all look like contributors to me.
My weekly recommendations
Streaming: Scrubs. The new season has been better than I expected on Hulu. Most of the original cast has returned for this reboot, and Zach Braff has been able to combine new humor with old nostalgia. Sadly, I am not a fan of the reboot of Malcolm in the Middle. It’s weird seeing Bryan Cranston play the role of a silly dad after you’ve seen him in Breaking Bad.
Food: Pretzel buns. If you want to jazz up your grilling menu, add pretzel buns to the menu the next time you cook up burgers. My oldest son roars with approval every time I spend a little more for them at the grocery store.
Song: Safe and Sound by Capital Cities. Not only is it a catchy tune, but my son’s 11U baseball team tends to play its best after they blare it on the ballpark speaker between innings.