Kansas State coach Prince will not return in 2009

Nov 5, 2008 - 9:41 PM MANHATTAN, Kansas (Ticker) -- Ron Prince, who replaced the highly successful Bill Snyder in 2006, is out as Kansas State's football coach.

The school announced during a news conference Wednesday that Prince, 38, will not return next season. He will coach the Wildcats for their final three regular-season games this year.

"We are in a performance-based profession and have made this decision in the best long-term interest of both the university and its football program," Kansas State athletic director Bob Krause said.

The third-youngest coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision when he was hired, Prince experienced only modest success following the popular Snyder, the winningest coach in Kansas State history.

Prince has a 16-18 record in his two-plus season at Kansas State, including a 4-5 mark this season. The Wildcats take a three-game losing streak into Saturday's contest against No. 13 Missouri.

Kansas State has had major problems on defense, yielding 50 or more points three times this season and 220 points in the five defeats. The Wildcats have surrendered 110 points in their two games against Oklahoma and Kansas.

In his first season, Prince guided the Wildcats to a 7-6 record and a berth in the inaugural Texas Bowl. Last season, Kansas State finished 5-7 after losing its last four games.

"Our goal remains the same: to build a winning program that is positioned to consistently compete for championships." Krause said. "I appreciate the hard work and dedication that coach Prince and his staff have put in over the last three seasons."

Despite the late-season slide last year, Prince signed an extension on August 7 that kept him under contract at Kansas State through the 2012 campaign.

The highlight of Prince's tenure at Kansas State was a 41-21 rout of then-No. 7 Texas in Austin last season. It was the first road victory against a top-10 team in the program's history.

But there were not enough big victories, as the Wildcats are just 8-13 in Big 12 Conference play under Prince, including 1-4 this season.

Last week's 52-21 loss to Kansas was the Wildcats' third straight defeat to their top rival.