Arkansas coach Bret Bielema has fond, humorous memories working for Kansas State’s Bill Snyder

Arkansas football coach Bret Bielema had some fascinating stories to tell about his time working at Kansas State under Bill Snyder.

Bielema served as K-State’s co-defensive coordinator in 2002 and 2003, helping the Wildcats win a Big 12 championship. During that time, he spent considerable time alone with Snyder. One memory that popped into his mind during a Liberty Bowl news conference Friday was a particularly turbulent flight.

The two coaches were alone on a small plane for a recruiting trip to Los Angeles when weather created a bumpy ride over mountains. Bielema remembers clutching the arm rest of his seat until the rough stretch passed. But Snyder was less patient. He told the pilots up front to steady the plane, or else.

“That’s when I realized he was a real power freak,” Bielema said.

Bielema considers Snyder a mentor, saying he advised him on everything from jobs to strategy decisions over the years. When he left K-State after two years for Wisconsin, he took the job without talking to Snyder because he knew Snyder would convince him to stay.

All throughout bowl preparation, Snyder has said he doesn’t look forward to coaching against his former pupil.

Their friendship is genuine. It is also a tad strange.

Bielema is a former defensive lineman that likes to wear sandals and casual clothing. Snyder is skinny and, away from the field, is always in a suit.

Those styles clashed at times when Bielema lived in Manhattan, and he has several stories to share about those days. Like the time he was upset Snyder took a week off to attend a Nike trip while Bielema toiled in the office, compiling future scouting reports. He decided to play a prank.

“We found out that it was $1.25 every sheet you faxed him, because he was on a boat,” Bielema said. “We faxed him 150 sheets, just to give him a little jab. I thought we would hear from him about that. He just took them all in. To this day, I don’t know if he knew we were joking with him a little bit. He should have, 50 of the pages were blank.”

Perhaps that topic will come up Saturday during pregame festivities. Regardless, Bielema looks forward to a matchup against Snyder.

“I know what we are getting into,” Bielema said. “I told our players all since the day of the announcement, ‘You are going to see a team on the field that looks really good and plays really good, but then you are going to have to amplify that by 1,000 once you get on the field.’ With them, they are going to play extremely hard and extremely physical.”

This story was originally published January 1, 2016 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Arkansas coach Bret Bielema has fond, humorous memories working for Kansas State’s Bill Snyder."