Biography
Gene Taylor, who has served as Kansas State's director of athletics since 2017, will receive the 2026 NFF John L. Toner Award for his distinguished career in college athletics administration, which has included stops at Iowa, North Dakota State, Navy and SMU, and his commitment to the values of college football.
Taylor's tenure at K-State has represented one of the most successful periods in the school's athletics history, marked by team championships, individual national titles, postseason runs, record crowds, continued academic success and significant facility enhancements.
Heading into 2026-27, K-State will be led by two new head coaches in Collin Klein (football) and Casey Alexander (men's basketball), while second-year track and field coach Travis Geopfert is coming off a season that saw three Wildcats claim individual national championships and three teams finish in the top 10, including a program-best fourth-place national finish by the men's indoor team.
K-State football has enjoyed sustained success during Taylor's tenure, highlighted by the 2022 Big 12 Championship, the program's first conference title in a decade. When Taylor arrived on campus in 2017, NFF College Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Snyder was still at the helm. Following Snyder's retirement after the 2018 season, Taylor faced the daunting task of replacing a living legend. He turned to Chris Klieman, rekindling a relationship that dated to their days together at North Dakota State. As the Bison athletics director, Taylor had promoted Klieman from defensive coordinator to head coach in 2013. Klieman went on to win four FCS national championships in five seasons before Taylor hired him again, this time to succeed Snyder at K-State.
Klieman quickly established the Wildcats as a consistent Big 12 contender, leading K-State to the 2022 conference crown and an Allstate Sugar Bowl appearance while producing three consecutive nine-win seasons from 2022-24. When Klieman retired in 2025, Taylor again faced the task of selecting a successor, this time turning to former Wildcat quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Klein to lead the program. With Taylor in the front office, the Wildcats have posted a 70-46 record, winning 60.3% of their games.
The Wildcats have also been a regular postseason presence during Taylor's tenure, earning seven bowl berths and winning the 2017 Cactus Bowl, 2021 Texas Bowl, 2023 Pop-Tarts Bowl and the 2024 Rate Bowl. Taylor's tenure has also included the induction of three Wildcats into the NFF College Football Hall of Fame — Darren Sproles, Michael Bishop and Terence Newman — and the selection of four players as Campbell Trophy® Finalists: Dalton Risner, Adam Holtorf, Adrian Martinez and Cooper Beebe.
A former member of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, Taylor currently serves as chair of the FBS Athletics Directors Association and as a member of the College Football Oversight Committee.
Beyond football, K-State has enjoyed significant success during Taylor's tenure, including Big 12 championships in men's basketball and women's track and field, an Elite Eight appearance in men's basketball, a Sweet 16 run in women's basketball and a baseball Super Regional berth. Women's golf also reached the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history, while track and field produced three individual national champions and a program-best fourth-place NCAA indoor finish.
Taylor and his staff have also raised funds for and implemented a department-wide facility master plan benefiting all Wildcat teams, including the Indoor Track and Field Complex, Morgan Family Arena for volleyball, the Morris Family Olympic Training Center and the Shamrock Practice Facility for football.
Taylor, who was named the 2022-23 Cushman & Wakefield FBS Athletic Director of the Year, has implemented a strategic plan emphasizing the student-athlete experience while guiding the department through a period of unprecedented change in college athletics, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapidly evolving NIL and revenue-sharing landscape.
K-State Nation continues to support the athletics program in unprecedented fashion as total cash giving to the department during the 2026 fiscal year totaled $45.7 million, breaking the previous fundraising record set in 2014. Within this, a new annual fund record was set with $41.2 million in annual gifts, shattering the previous record of $26.3 million set in 2024, and a record $1.17 million raised during the annual Powercat Auction.
Academic achievement has remained a priority under Taylor's leadership, with K-State continuing to rank among the top schools in the Big 12 in Academic Progress Rate and Graduation Success Rate.
Taylor arrived at K-State after serving as deputy athletics director at Iowa from 2014-17 after a highly successful 13-year tenure as athletics director at North Dakota State. Taylor helped oversee the Bison's transition from NCAA Division II to Division I and the emergence of an athletics program that would become a national power at the FCS level and now an FBS program. During his tenure, NDSU football captured three consecutive FCS national championships from 2011-13.
A 1980 business management graduate of Arizona State, Taylor earned his master's degree in sports administration from St. Thomas University in Florida in 1985. He began his career in the ticket office at Southern Methodist University in 1985-86 before joining the U.S. Naval Academy, where he spent 15 years in a variety of administrative roles before taking over at North Dakota State. His tenure at Navy also included serving as commissioner of the Collegiate Sprint Football League that includes Army, Navy, Penn, Princeton and Cornell.
"Gene Taylor represents everything you want in an athletics director," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "He's a thoughtful leader who cares deeply about the student-athletes, coaches and people around him, and everywhere he has been, he has left the athletics program stronger than he found it. Gene has also been a steady and respected voice during a period of tremendous change in college athletics, and his commitment to doing things the right way has never wavered. He is incredibly deserving of the John L. Toner Award."
