Kansas State has rewarded head football coach Chris Klieman with a new contract that will run through the 2030 season, the school announced on Monday. Klieman is 30-20 (20-16 Big 12) in four seasons with K-State and just led the Wildcats to a 10-4 season highlighted by a victory over TCU in the Big 12 Championship Game and an appearance in the Sugar Bowl.
The four-year extension will pay Klieman a base salary $5.5 million per year. That averages out to roughly a $1.5 million annual raise for Klieman, whose previous deal ran through 2026. Klieman took over the K-State program after the 2018 season when legendary coach Bill Snyder’s second tenure came to an end with a 5-7 campaign.
“I am extremely appreciative of Dr. Richard Linton and Gene Taylor for their phenomenal support of our football program,” Klieman said in a statement. “What we have been able to accomplish in our first four years here is due to the culture that our players and staff have been able to create. I am excited to continue to lead this football program and put a product on the field each year that can compete at the highest level. We have what we need here at K-State to consistently win at a high level – administrative support, unbelievable facilities and the best fans in the country – and my family and I are grateful to be a part of the Wildcat family.”
After winning four national titles in five seasons as the coach at North Dakota State, Klieman quickly returned Kansas State to bowl eligibility with an 8-5 season in 2019. K-State finished just 4-6 in the pandemic-shortened 2020, but that poor record came amid a season-ending injury to star quarterback Skylar Thompson. The Wildcats are 18-9 over the past two seasons and finished the 2022 campaign ranked No. 14, even after a 45-20 Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama.
In addition to the Big 12 title game victory against an eventual CFP runner-up in TCU, Kansas State’s 10-4 record this past season also included wins over Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, who were top-10 teams at the time.
“Chris has done an unbelievable job building a program in four years that not only has won a Big 12 Championship, but even more importantly, one that players have taken great pride in and helped sustain a…
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