Topic: Bruce Snyder

Bruce Snyder (March 14, 1940 – April 13, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Utah State University (1976–1982), University of California, Berkeley (1987–1991), and Arizona State University (1992–2000), compiling a record of 125–106–6 at the three schools.

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. In 1996, Snyder led Arizona State to an 11–1 record. Early in the season, the Sun Devils stunning the top-ranked and two-time defending national champion Nebraska Cornhuskers. Arizona State won 11 straight games en route to the 1997 Rose Bowl, where they came within 19 seconds of a victory over Ohio State that would have clinched the school's first national championship in football. For his efforts that season, Synder won a number of national coaching awards, including the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award and the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award.

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, who coached the Sun Devils from 1958 to 1979 and won 173 games. Synder led ASU to four bowl games including a win in the 1997 Sun Bowl. More than 40 ASU players coached by Snyder were selected in the NFL Draft, including seven in the first round, and more than 40 others signed free agent contracts in the NFL. After his stint at Arizona State, Snyder assisted long-time friend John Robinson at UNLV for one season in 2003. He also served under Robinson as an assistant coach from 1983 to 1986 for the NFL's Los Angeles Rams.