As college teams across the nation adjust to the "NIL era" in sports, Kansas State football is no exception.
But coach Collin Klein has the ultimate response on how the program is adjusting and handling the atmosphere of constant roster changes and yearly switches. He believes the solution is establishing a program that invests in its players and encourages them to return.
"We’re gonna make it challenging and make it to where every single one of us is going to invest more to be a part of something more to try to create that synergy and that level of connectivity," Klein said in an interview with KCSN. "There may be a time or a situation with a player where they have to go to another situation, and that’s okay. We’re gonna be very happy for them and whatever's in their best interest in that moment. That’s a great thing and that’s something to get guys on the field and actually playing that the portal is great for."
But with this in mind, Klein knows to enforce a standard at Kansas State of excellence, grit, and perseverance.
"Some of it's for good, and some obviously not, but at the end of the day, I think it starts with us as a staff," Klein said. "We have to emulate all of those values that we ask our players to do. We have to build this thing forever, and we have to create the type of energy they want to be part of. Instead of trying to make it easier to keep people here, we’re gonna attack it head-on and say, 'No, it’s gonna be hard to be a Kansas State Wildcat.'"
So far, the program legend is pleased with the job the new players are doing adjusting to the Wildcats' setting. The team has work to do to redeem itself after its underwhelming 2025 season. While Kansas State likely won't return to championship standards, it has a chance to at least form the foundation for future success.
"I’ve been really proud of them," Klein said. "We’ve asked a lot of them. We’re going to keep turning up the heat, even as we get through this middle phase of the winter program. They haven’t turned it down. They haven’t flinched, and I’m gonna test that. They’ve literally attacked everything we’ve asked him to do, and that identity of how hard we can play will be the calling card. I think they’re embracing that already."
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