Former Arizona State coach Bruce Snyder dies at 69
Bruce Snyder, who led Arizona State to a perfect regular season and the 1997 Rose Bowl, died Monday after a 10-month fight against cancer. He was 69.
After leading the Sun Devils to an 11-0 regular season, Snyder earned consensus 1996 national coach of the year honors. He also was named Pac-10 coach of the year twice, once at Arizona State and in 1990 as California's head coach.
Snyder coached the Sun Devils between 1992 and 2000 and compiled a 58-47 record. His 20 years as a head coach included tenures at Cal (1987-91) and Utah State (1976-82) and he also was an assistant for the Los Angeles Rams from 1983-86. He left Arizona State after the 2000 season with an all-time record of 126-106-5.
Snyder's grand achievement was the Sun Devils' 1996 run. Led by quarterback Jake Plummer, a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, ASU landed on the national map with a stunning 19-0 upset of two-time defending national champion and top-ranked Nebraska. The Sun Devils played in their second Rose Bowl, falling to Ohio State 20-17 on a last-minute touchdown, and concluded the season ranked fourth in the national polls.
Snyder, recently enshrined in the ASU Athletic Hall of Distinction, won 13 major coach of the year awards after that season, including the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award.
Snyder's 58 victories rank second on Arizona State's all-time list. He coached more than 40 Sun Devils players who were later selected in the NFL draft, including seven first-round picks -- Shante Carver, Craig Newsome, Erik Flowers, Adam Archuleta, Todd Heap, Levi Jones and Terrell Suggs.
In his final season at Cal before going to Arizona State, Snyder directed the Golden Bears to a 10-2 record, No. 8 national ranking and a win over ACC champion Clemson in the Citrus Bowl. He also won two conference championships at Utah State.
Snyder was diagnosed with cancer last June. He is survived by his wife, three daughters, a son-in-law, two grandchildren, four sisters and two brothers. Service arrangements will be private.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4065325
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