Bruce Snyder, Jake Plummer's college coach, dies

Bruce Snyder, the head football coach at Arizona State for nine seasons (1992-2000), passed away Monday after being diagnosed with cancer last June. Snyder, 69, is survived by wife, three daughters, a son-in-law, two grandchildren, four sisters and two brothers. Service arrangements will be private.

A collegiate head coach for 20 years, Snyder (born March 14, 1940) was recently enshrined into the ASU Athletic Hall of Distinction, joining one of his outstanding players, Pat Tillman, in the Class of 2008. Snyder found success at stops with Utah State (1976-82) and fellow Pac-10 program California (1987-91) before landing in Tempe and guiding the Sun Devils to a 58-47-0 (.563) record during his tenure in the Valley of the Sun. A two-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year (1996 with ASU and 1990 with Cal), Snyder ended his coaching career following the 2000 season with an all-time record of 126-106-5 (.542) in 20 seasons.

The highlight of his time in Tempe came in 1996 as he guided the Sun Devils to an unblemished regular season record (11-0), including a stunning 19-0 home upset of two-time defending national champion and top-ranked Nebraska. He also did something for the first time in program history that season as the Maroon and Gold defeated Washington, USC, UCLA and rival Arizona in the same season (he later did it again in 1999, the only two times it has happened). Following the season, the Sun Devils played in their second Rose Bowl, falling to Ohio State (20-17) on a last-minute touchdown and concluded the campaign ranked No. 4 in the national polls.

For his efforts, he was voted as the consensus 1996 National Coach of the Year and won 13 major coach of the year awards, including the Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant Award. His athletes also were honored, including quarterback Jake Plummer, who was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, and offensive lineman Juan Roque, who became the program’s 14th consensus All-American. That team was led by a host of future NFL players that included Plummer, Roque, Pat Tillman, Lenzie Jackson, Keith Poole, Grey Ruegamer, Steve Bush, Derrick Rodgers, Derek Smith and Jason Simmons.

In 1997, Snyder led ASU to a 9-3 record and a 17-7 victory over Iowa in the Sun Bowl, the Sun Devils’ first bowl win in 10 years. In his final two seasons at ASU (1999 and 2000), he coached ASU to wins over Arizona in the regular season finale to clinch bowl appearances.