Kansas State Wildcats Kansas State University ' s ( variously " Kansas State " , " K - State " or " KSU " ) athletic teams are called the Wildcats . The official color of the teams is Royal Purple , making Kansas State one of very few schools ( including also Syracuse and Harvard ) that have only one official color ; white and silver are generally used as complementary colors . Kansas State participates in the NCAA ' s Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision ) and is a member of the Big 12 Conference since 1996 . Previously , Kansas State competed in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference until 1912 ; the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association from 1913 to 1928 ; and the Big Eight Conference from 1928 to 1996 ( known as the Big Six from 1928 – 47 and the Big Seven from 1947 – 57 ) . Because the Big 12 does not sponsor rowing , the women ' s rowing team competes as an affiliate of Conference USA . Athletics department . Kansas State offers fourteen sports at a varsity level . As of January 1 , 2013 , Kansas State has captured 66 total conference championships through the years ( not counting competition in the old Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association ) . Kansas State has not won any team NCAA championships , but has had dozens of individual national champions . The Kansas State Wildcats are currently represented in the following NCAA Division I varsity sports : In the 2007 – 2008 school year , Kansas State was the only school in the nation to have a consensus All - America in both football ( Jordy Nelson ) and men ' s basketball ( Michael Beasley ) . Also in 2007 , Kansas State led the Big 12 Conference with a 64 percent graduation rate for all sports . The Wildcats were second in the Big 12 with a 69 percent graduation rate in football . History . Athletic competition began within the first decade after the founding of Kansas State Agricultural College in 1863 , as students began organizing and playing games of baseball against locals from Manhattan . Beginning in 1890 , a baseball game between the faculty and the senior class became an annual feature of graduation day . According to most sources , intercollegiate competition began on Thanksgiving Day 1893 , when Kansas State ' s football team defeated St . Mary ' s College 18 - 10 . A baseball match against St . Mary ' s College followed on May 26 , 1894 . ( St . Mary ' s was a regional athletics powerhouse , whose recent graduates included baseball pioneers Charles Comiskey and Ted Sullivan . ) These matches are not , however , reflected in the school ' s official histories , and the first official contest recorded is a 14 - 0 loss to Fort Riley in a football game on November 28 , 1896 . By the turn of the century , Kansas State was competing in the Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association , along with the University of Kansas and other state schools . Adopting a more organized approach to athletics , in 1911 an " athletic committee " was created at the school to set policy and schedule contests , among other duties . On the heels of athletic success in the Kansas conference , including a 1912 football championship , Kansas State was invited to join the more prestigious Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association ( MVIAA ) in 1913 . In 1916 Z . G . Clevenger was elected the school ' s first Athletic Director . In 1928 , when the " Big Six " members of the MVIAA split away from the smaller schools of the Missouri Valley , Kansas State was included in its membership . The school ' s commitment to athletics dipped thereafter . According to longtime Wildcat radio announcer Dev Nelson , after World War II Kansas State was one of the few major schools that didn ' t make a significant investment in its football program , or athletics overall . Indeed , for many years the Wildcats spent far less on athletics than any other Big Eight school . Between 1969 and 1975 the school added women ' s programs , but also cut four men ' s sports : men ' s swimming , wrestling , men ' s gymnastics and men ' s tennis . As recently as 1987 - 1988 the University of Oklahoma ( the Big Eight ' s second smallest school ) spent $ 12 . 5 million on athletics while Kansas State spent only $ 5 . 5 million . In more recent decades , however , the school has recommitted significant resources to athletics , and in 2012 it was the most profitable athletics department in the United States , although it still offers the fewest varsity sports in the Big 12 Conference . Administration . Athletics at Kansas State University are administered by the University ' s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics . The department is headed by the Athletic Director . Athletic Directors of note over the years at Kansas State University include : Baseball . Kansas State ' s baseball team began play in 1897 . The Wildcats earned what is believed to be the school ' s first varsity championship in 1907 under coach Mike Ahearn . The Wildcats went on to win a Missouri Valley Conference championship in 1928 and Big Six Conference championships in 1930 and 1933 . Other milestones in the team ' s history include Earl Woods , the father of golfer Tiger Woods , becoming the first African - American baseball player in the Big Seven Conference in 1952 , as well as all - time coaching wins leader Mike Clark winning the Big Eight Coach of the Year award in 1990 . The Wildcats have not traditionally been competitive on the national scale , but in 2009 the team made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament . Kansas State has qualified four times for the Big 12 Conference tournament since its formation in 1996 . The most recent appearance came in 2009 . The Wildcats also earned a berth in the Big 12 Conference tournament in 2002 , 2007 , and 2008 . In 2008 , Hill led the Wildcats all the way to the championship game against Texas , eventually falling 15 – 7 , just one win shy of their first tournament championship . Hill ' s teams have also earned the school ' s first national rankings in the " USA Today " / ESPN Coach ' s Poll in the 2009 and 2010 seasons . The Wildcats call Tointon Family Stadium home . Basketball . The men ' s and women ' s basketball teams play their home games in Bramlage Coliseum , nicknamed the " Octagon of Doom " . Men ' s basketball . Kansas State ' s men ' s basketball team began competition in 1902 . The program has a long history of success . The first two major conference titles captured by the school were won in the sport , in 1917 and 1919 , in the Missouri Valley Conference . Kansas State has gone on to capture 17 conference crowns in the sport . The program has also appeared in 26 NCAA basketball tournament s . Kansas State lost to the University of Kentucky for the national championship in 1951 , reached the Final Four four times , the Elite Eight 12 times , and the Sweet Sixteen 16 times . K - State has finished ranked in the Top Ten of the AP Poll on eight occasions ( most recently in 2010 ) , and in the top twenty 13 total times . When " Street & Smith ' s Annual " listed the 100 greatest college basketball programs of all time in 2005 , K - State ranked 22nd . After a lengthy period with little success during the 1990s and 2000s , the team recently returned to prominence . Following a twelve - year absence , the team returned to the NCAA tournament after the 2007 – 08 season , under first - year head coach Frank Martin . Following that season , Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley was named an All - American and Big 12 Conference Player of the Year . In the 2009 – 10 season , the team spent much of the year ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll and finished second in the Big 12 with an 11 - 5 record . The team received a # 2 seed for the 2010 NCAA Men ' s Division I Basketball Tournament , and beat North Texas , BYU and Xavier to advance to the Elite Eight . The season ended for Kansas State with a loss to Butler on March 27 , 2010 . On March 31 , 2012 , Bruce Weber was announced as head coach , after the departure of Frank Martin who left to take the head coaching job at South Carolina . Women ' s basketball . Kansas State ' s women ' s basketball team began intercollegiate competition in 1968 . The team is among the top 15 all - time winningest programs in the NCAA . The women ' s team has participated in 19 total NCAA basketball tournament s and AIAW tournament s ( pre - NCAA ) , the second - most appearances in the Big 12 Conference . K - State has finished ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll on three occasions ( 1984 , 2003 , 2004 ) , and in the top twenty nine times . Following the 2005 – 2006 season , Kansas State was crowned champion of the Women ' s National Invitation Tournament . The current head coach is Deb Patterson . Under Patterson , the team has attended nine NCAA tournaments and won two conference championships . Football . Kansas State ' s football team officially began play in 1896 . The first game recorded in the team ' s record books is a 14 - 0 loss to Fort Riley on November 28 , 1896 . Despite some shining moments in the 1920s and 1930s , by 1989 the school was statistically the worst program in NCAA Division I with a record of 299 – 509 – 41 . Fortunes changed in 1989 , when the athletic department hired Bill Snyder as head coach . Success and high rankings followed , culminating in a # 1 national ranking during the 1998 season and a Big 12 Conference championship in 2003 . Between the years of 1993 and 2003 , Snyder ' s teams went 109 – 29 – 1 and attended eleven straight bowl games . Bill Snyder retired following the 2005 season , and Ron Prince was named the new head coach . In his first season , Prince guided the Wildcats to the school ' s first winning record ( 7 – 6 ) in three years and a spot in the inaugural Texas Bowl . Prince ' s second and third seasons both ended with 5 – 7 records . With three games left in the 2008 season , it was announced that Prince would not return for the 2009 season . Prince was replaced by former head coach Snyder , who returned to the school for a second stint . The team plays its home games at Bill Snyder Family Stadium , and the KSU Marching Band ( also known as the Pride of Wildcat Land ) performs at all home games . Track and field . Kansas State began competing in track and field in 1904 . The team has won twenty conference championships . Its athletes have also achieved considerable national success . Through the end of the 2011 – 2012 season , K - State athletes have won individual NCAA national championships 33 times . Twenty Kansas State athletes have attended 14 Olympic Games and have won eight medals , most recently at the 2012 Summer Olympics where Erik Kynard , Jr . took silver in the high jump . The current head coach is Cliff Rovelto . Rovelto has won a number of coach of the year awards during his tenure at Kansas State , and served as head coach for the U . S . Track & Field team at the 2011 Pan American Games and assistant for the team at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki . Former coach Ward Haylett , who is enshrined in the National Track & Field Hall of Fame , left a strong imprint on the Kansas State program . Haylett was head coach at the school from 1928 – 1963 . Volleyball . The team currently plays in Ahearn Field House in Manhattan , Kansas . Kansas State ' s women ' s volleyball team began intercollegiate competition in 1974 . The team is among the all - time winningest programs in the NCAA . As of the close of the 2012 season , the team has participated in 14 NCAA tournament s , including ten consecutive tournaments from 1996 to 2005 . K - State also participated in the AIAW tournament in 1977 . K - State has finished ranked in the top twenty of the AVCA poll six times , and in the top 25 on eleven occasions . The team most recently participated in the NCAA tournament in 2012 . The current head coach is Suzie Fritz . Fritz has led the Wildcats to several NCAA Tournament appearances and the school ' s first conference title in volleyball in 2003 . As of the close of the 2008 season , Fritz also holds the second - highest winning percentage among all K - State ' s volleyball coaches after compiling a record of 148 – 70 ( . 679 ) . In eight seasons as head coach , through the end of the 2008 season , Fritz has coached six All - Americans . Notable non varsity sports . Rugby . Kansas State rugby plays in the Heart of America conference against traditional rivals from the Big 12 north such as Kansas and Missouri . The Wildcats previously played college rugby in the Central Division , where they were champions in the 2009 - 10 and 2010 - 11 seasons . In the 2011 - 11 season Kansas State reached the sweet 16 round of the national playoffs and finished the season ranked 8th . The Wildcats best season was in 1981 , when they reached the national semifinals . Rivalries . Kansas State Wildcats vs . Kansas Jayhawks ( Sunflower Showdown ) . Since the early 1900s when Kansas State and Kansas began competing in baseball , basketball , and football , the two teams schools and fans have developed a passionate rivalry . Men ' s Basketball . The rivalry on the hardwood peaked in the 1950s when both teams were national title contenders . A facilities race also began in the 1950s , starting with the construction of Kansas State ' s Ahearn Fieldhouse , which was one of the largest basketball facilities in the country with a capacity of 14 , 000 when opened in 1951 . Kansas soon answered with Allen Fieldhouse , which would seat 16 , 300 . The rivalry continued strong through the 1980s , but faded as Kansas began a 24 - game win streak against the Wildcats in Manhattan in 1984 . On January 30 , 2008 # 22 Kansas State upset # 2 Kansas 84 – 75 , winning against Kansas in Bramlage Coliseum for the first time with the aid of freshmen Michael Beasley and Bill Walker . Kansas State currently trails in the all - time series , 90 – 180 . Football . Historically , neither football program has had sustained success . The rivalry intensified for a period in the early 1990s as both teams entered the national rankings . In 1991 Head Coach Bill Snyder gained his first win against the Jayhawks and over the next 12 years Kansas would only beat the Wildcats once , in 1992 , until KU finally won again in a home game in 2004 . The rivalry intensified again in the 2000s as Kansas returned to relevance under Mark Mangino and the Wildcats struggled under Ron Prince . Kansas State currently trails in the all - time series , 40 – 64 – 5 . Kansas State Wildcats vs . Nebraska Cornhuskers . Football . After the creation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996 , and through early 2000s , the Wildcats and Cornhuskers consistently competed for the Big 12 North championship . Until the 1990s , however , the series was severely one - sided , with Kansas State losing 29 consecutive games to Nebraska until November 14 , 1998 when the # 1 - ranked Wildcats beat # 11 Nebraska 40 – 30 . Kansas State subsequently beat Nebraska in 2000 , 2002 , 2003 and 2004 . Despite their success against Nebraska for four years in the early 2000s the overall record between the schools is demonstrative of Nebraska ' s dominance . Nebraska leads the series 78 - 15 - 2 . Volleyball . Nebraska is the Wildcats ' biggest volleyball rival . Both teams have been ranked in the AVCA Top 25 almost weekly for the past decade , and every Kansas State home game against Nebraska is promoted with t - shirts that read " Keep The Red Out . " Racial integration at Kansas State . Kansas State historically has been welcoming to all races . As far back as the 1940s and 1950s ( a time regarded by many for its lack of civil rights in the United States ) , the leadership of K - State athletics took a strong stance in support of racial integration . Football . In 1949 , African American Harold Robinson played football for Kansas State with an athletic scholarship . In doing so , Robinson broke the decades - long " color barrier " in Big Seven Conference athletics . Harold Robinson later received a letter of congratulations from Jackie Robinson , who had integrated major league baseball in 1947 while playing with the Brooklyn Dodgers . Baseball . In the spring of 1951 , the conference color barrier in baseball was broken by Kansas State ' s Earl Woods ( the father of golf great Tiger Woods ) . An indicator of the controversial nature of this position is reflected in an article published in " The Tulsa World " about an incident that occurred in the early 1950s during a baseball game : Men ' s Basketball . Finally , in the winter of 1951 – 1952 , Kansas State ' s Gene Wilson broke the conference color barrier in basketball , along with LaVannes Squires at the University of Kansas .