Kansas State's Gene Taylor named national athletics director of the year

Kansas State's remarkable success this year in its two marquee sports programs has been well documented.

First Chris Klieman led the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship in football. The men's basketball team followed that up with an Elite Eight NCAA Tournament run under first-time head coach Jerome Tang.

And now Gene Taylor, who brought both Klieman and Tang to K-State, has been recognized by his peers as the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics as its FBS Athletics Director of the Year.

Taylor, who also serves on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee and the LEAD1 Board of Directors, will be honored during the NACDA convention on June 13 in Orlando, Florida.

“I am very thankful and appreciative to be honored by my peers,” Taylor said in a statement. “The success that we have had at K-State is the direct result of the passion and hard work that our entire staff puts forth each and every day, and I am blessed to be a part of such a special place, at a special university, filled with very special people.”

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Taylor, who was hired as athletics director in April 2017, was recognized by Stadium in 2020 as the eighth-best AD among FBS programs. During his tenure, the Wildcats have enjoyed success both on the playing fields and through fundraising and facility improvements.

This past fall, K-State's football team went 10-4 with a 7-2 league record, topping it off with a 31-28 overtime victory over TCU in the Big 12 championship game. They then went on to face Alabama in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans — their third bowl game in four years under Klieman.

Tang took a men's basketball team that was picked last in the Big 12 to a 26-10 record, a No. 3 NCAA Tournament seed, and a magical run with victories over Montana State, Kentucky and Michigan State before it ended one game short of the Final Four on Saturday with a 79-76 loss to Florida Atlantic.

Taylor also has overseen a record fundraising campaign, which has resulted in major upgrades to Bill Family Snyder Family Stadium and the opening of the indoor Shamrock Practice Facility. The new Morgan Family Arena for volleyball and adjoining Olympic training center also are nearing completion.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State's Gene Taylor receives national athletics director honor