(STATS) – North Dakota State’s Chris Klieman was named Kansas State’s new coach Monday night, but will likely continue to guide the Bison in this year’s FCS playoffs.
Klieman, 51, has a 67-6 record in five seasons and will be on the sideline for North Dakota State’s national semifinal against South Dakota State Friday night.
“I’d be so jacked to be the next head football coach at Kansas State. I’d be so thrilled to be that,” Klieman told Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor in a taped recording of his agreeing to succeed the retired Bill Snyder at the Big 12 school.
“I’m very excited to have Chris Klieman lead our program,” Taylor said. “He is a perfect fit for us, both from a personal standpoint and as a head coach. He’s a tremendous teacher who I had the pleasure to hire at NDSU and watched him turn into a very successful coach. He will bring a ton of energy and excitement. His teams play extremely hard, disciplined football. He’s a winner.”
Kansas State announced Klieman will receive a six-year deal, paying him $2.3 million a year with $200,000 annual raises.
If top-ranked North Dakota State (13-0) repeats as national champion, it would become the first in FCS history to win seven titles – all since 2011. If Klieman were to stay on and win another championship on Jan. 5, he would become the second FCS head coach with four titles, tying Youngstown State’s Jim Tressel for the most all-time.
Klieman was an assistant coach under Craig Bohl on the first three NDSU champions. Taylor was the Bison athletic director in DEcember 2013 when, in a similar situation, Klieman was named the next coach after Bohl announced he would step down to become Wyoming’s coach following the season.
A graduate of Northern Iowa, where he was a defensive back, Klieman went 3-7 in one season coaching Loras College in 2005.
He’s taken over a Kansas State team that was 5-7 this season. The Hall-of-Famer Snyder retired earlier this month after going 215-117-1 in two stints with the Wildcats.
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