Bruce Fletcher Snyder (March 14, 1940 – April 13, 2009) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player and coach. After playing

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc Nike, Inc. ( or ) is a ...

in the early 1960s as a fullback, Snyder embarked on a coaching career. He was the head football coach at

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah ...

(1976–1982),

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

(1987–1991), and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

(1992–2000), compiling a record of at the three schools. Snyder's 58 wins and nine-year tenure as head coach at Arizona State each rank second in school history to marks set by

Frank Kush Frank Joseph Kush (January 20, 1929 – June 22, 2017) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Arizona State University from 1958 to 1979, compiling a record of 176–54–1. Kush was also the head coach of the ...

, who coached the Sun Devils from 1958 to 1979 and won 173 games. Snyder led ASU to four

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

s including a win in the

1997 Sun Bowl The 1997 Norwest Sun Bowl featured the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Arizona State Sun Devils. After a scoreless first quarter, Arizona State scored first, with a 35-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Steve Campbell to wide receiver Lenzie Jackson to ...

. More than 40 ASU players coached by Snyder were selected in the

National Football League Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

, including seven in the first round, and more than 40 others signed free agent contracts in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

(NFL). After his stint at Arizona State, Snyder assisted long-time friend

John Robinson John Robinson may refer to: Academics *John Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), Irish astronomer and physicist * John J. Robinson (1918–1996), historian and author of ''Born in Blood'' * John Talbot Robinson (1923–2001), paleontologist *Joh ...

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

for one season in 2003. He also served under Robinson as an assistant coach from 1983 to 1986 for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

of the

(NFL). Snyder was twice named Pac-10 Coach of the Year, in 1990 with Cal and in 1996 with Arizona State. He is a member of the Arizona State Hall of Fame. His best Sun Devil team was the 1996 unit. With Jake Plummer at quarterback, Snyder led ASU to an 11–1 record. The Sun Devils stunned the top-ranked and two-time defending national champion

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

in the season's second game. Arizona State reeled off the third undefeated regular season in school history en route

1997 Rose Bowl The 1997 Rose Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game between the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pacific-10 Conference and the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference. The game was the 83rd edition of the annual Rose Bowl Game, held ...

, where they came within 19 seconds of a victory over

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

. Had they won, the Sun Devils would have likely won at least a share of the national championship, as they would have been the only undefeated major-conference team in the nation. For his efforts that season, Snyder won a number of national coaching awards, including the

Paul "Bear" Bryant Award The American Heart Association (AHA) Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards are an annual awards banquet that is hosted each year in January, in Houston, Texas, by the AHA.For a list of American Heart Association offices, by state, go to: There are two aw ...

and the

Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award The Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award is given annually to the collegiate American football head coach adjudged by a group of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) head coaches and sports in ...

. Snyder was diagnosed with Stage IV

melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

in June 2008. He died less than a year later on April 13, 2009, at his home in Phoenix.Former Cal Coach Snyder dies of cancer

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Snyder, Bruce 1940 births 2009 deaths Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches California Golden Bears football coaches Los Angeles Rams coaches Oregon Ducks football coaches Oregon Ducks football players USC Trojans football coaches Utah State Aggies football coaches UNLV Rebels football coaches Deaths from cancer in Arizona Deaths from melanoma