FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema and the Razorbacks accepted an invitation on Sunday to take on Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis on Jan. 2, then Sunday night Bielema hopped on a plane to New York City to pay tribute to the venerable former mentor he'll square off against in Memphis.
Bielema got emotional at his Sunday evening news conference when talking about long-time Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder, who will be inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday in New York City.
Bielema left his position as linebackers coach at Iowa, his alma mater, after the 2001 season to become co-defensive coordinator for Snyder at Kansas State for two seasons.
"He's cool man," Bielema said, tears welling in his eyes. "He's a guy that for two years trained me. I was a long ways away from home. So he gave me a lot of advice on things other than football, so that was pretty cool."
Snyder, 76, will be the fourth active head coach to be inducted in the college football Hall of Fame, joining Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden and John Gagliardi.
Snyder took part in a Liberty Bowl teleconference Sunday evening from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, and said he knows Bielema has put together a strong program at Arkansas.
"I'm in New York because of guys like Bret that have given me the opportunity to reap the benefits of what they've done," Snyder said. "I can't say that I relish competing against people that are as close to me as Bret is, and people that have been in our program."
Bielema said competing against Snyder isn't going to be easy, but that he was looking forward to giving Snyder a big hug in New York City.
"It's a great thing," Snyder said, "but he's so big, I don't want him to hug me too tight. I'm a little fragile now. I'm 112 years old, so I want to make sure that he doesn't crush any bones."
Bielema said he calls Snyder a few times a year to chat, and that he turned to him earlier this season when the Razorbacks were in the midst of a 2-4 start.
"I just asked about, when we hadn't won one in a while, how he turned the corner and some different thoughts. I'm always leaning on him for stuff like that," Bielema said.
"There may come a time where I'll regret giving Bret any advice about his season a little earlier," Snyder said, laughing.
Arkansas rebounded from its slow start to finish at 7-5. Kansas State (6-6) earned its bowl eligibility on Saturday with a 24-23 victory over West Virginia.
The Razorbacks will face the Wildcats at 2:20 p.m. on Jan. 2 in a time slot not occupied by any other college of NFL games. The teams will meet in a bowl game for the second time in five seasons. Arkansas downed the Wildcats 29-16 in the Cotton Bowl following the 2011 season in Bobby Petrino's final game with the Razorbacks.
Kansas State leads the all-time series 3-2.
Bielema isn't the lone Arkansas coach who used to work under Snyder.
Hogs receivers coach Michael Smith, a former Wildcats player, worked with Snyder at Kansas State for 16 years in two different stints, starting as a student assistant in 1993, before coming to Arkansas.
Bielema said Smith was equally excited to be facing Snyder in the Liberty Bowl.
"We're both scared too," Bielema said, laughing. "He has a way of inflicting that on you. Of all the coaches that I hired when I came here, the phone call that I dreaded the most was the phone call to Coach Snyder to get permission to bring Michael with me.
"He proceeded to let me have it pretty good. I weathered the storm and at least got the chance to talk to him and Michael had to make a decision from there."
Bielema said the Razorbacks got in three practices over the weekend, much of it developmental work for younger players. The team's Sunday practice involved the full team with the exception of receivers Drew Morgan (shoulder) and Dominique Reed (ankle), who are recovering from lingering injuries.
"We went outside for about an hour and a half and it shows you why you need to practice," Bielema said. "Those guys had a little bit of time away and it wasn't as clean as we like."
Bielema said the Razorbacks would get in 17 practices before facing Kansas State.
Sports on 12/07/2015