Snyder to receive Altieri Lifetime Achievement Coaching Award

January 26, 2009

<a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/snyder_bruce00.html">B… Snyder</a>, who coached Arizona State University football for nine seasons between 1992-2000, is the 2009 recipient of the Pete Altieri "Lifetime Achievement" Coaching Award presented annually by the Valley of the Sun Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, Chapter Executive Director Dan Manucci announced Monday.<separator></separator>Snyder, along with 23 other Scholar Athletes, coaches, referees, chapter leaders and a distinguished Arizonan, will be honored at the Chapter's annual Scholarship Banquet on Saturday, February 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Scottsdale Hilton Resort, 6333 North Scottsdale Road. Tickets are $75 each and for more information regarding the banquet, please contact Dan Manucci at 480-516-6002.<separator></separator>The Altieri "Lifetime Achievement" Award exemplifies a coach who has achieved significant career success and has reflected the basic values of those who have excelled in amateur football, while still imparting the educational and character building qualities of the game.<separator></separator>Snyder is the second-longest-tenured head coach in ASU school history, and in his nine seasons he led the Sun Devils to five winning seasons and four bowl games. His 58 wins are second only to Frank Kush on the ASU all-time wins list.<separator></separator>Snyder cemented his legacy at Arizona State in 1996, when he coached Arizona State to an undefeated regular season and a Pacific-10 Conference Championship, guaranteeing the Sun Devils a spot in the Rose Bowl. In one of the biggest wins in school history, Snyder led the Devils to victory over two-time defending national champion and consensus No. 1 Nebraska 19-0, still the only win in ASU history over an Associated Press No. 1 ranked team. That same year, he became one of only three ASU coaches to receive National Coach of the Year honors, winning 13 major coach-of-the-year awards, including the Paul `Bear' Bryant Award. Arizona State finished the season ranked fourth in the Associated Press poll, its second-highest finish in school history.<separator></separator>Following the stellar '96 season, Snyder guided the Sun Devils to a 9-3 record, including a 17-7 win over Iowa in the Sun Bowl. ASU ended the season ranked No. 14, the second consecutive year it finished in the top 15.<separator></separator>Over 80 players who competed under coach Snyder went on to play in the NFL, including Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year winners <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/tillman_pat00.html">Pat Tillman</a><a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/archuleta_adam00.html"… Archuleta</a>, Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year Jake Plummer, and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/suggs_terrell00.html">… Suggs</a>, the ASU career sack leader and 10th overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft. and<separator></separator>Prior to taking over in the desert, Snyder presided over Utah State for seven seasons, leading the Aggies to consecutive conference championships in 1978 and 1979. He left Utah State for the University of California after the 1982 season, and in his final year at Berkeley, he directed the Golden Bears to a 10-2 record, a No. 8 national ranking and a win over Clemson in the Citrus Bowl. In his five years at Cal, he compiled a 29-24-4 record and won Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 1990 after leading the Bears to just their second bowl game since 1958.<separator></separator>