K-State athletics are a $428 million industry

This was going to be a quick Slate, but an extra set of hands make things all better.

Previously...

This blog has not exactly been rife with content this past week. But things are looking up. JT VanGilder brings us a much-needed recruiting update, and in some leftover business from last week, we review Week 3 in the Big 12.

Football

Kansas State wraps up the non-conference schedule this Saturday with an evening tilt against Missouri State at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The Wildcats are not looking past the Bears, as Missouri State (2-0) has already doubled its win total from last season and is feeling pretty confident (Scott Popp, K-State Collegian).

The Kansas State offense may be a work in progress, but the defense has been solid through two games this season. Bill Snyder is playing it cool though, noting that he’s yet to see the defense hold up over three consecutive Big 12 games (Ken Corbitt, Topeka Capital-Journal).

Corbin McGuire of K-State Sports takes a closer look at the defensive line in this SE feature, noting that the unit has already forced five turnovers in just two games.

Kellis Robinett picks K-State to defeat Missouri State 50-7 in his three-minute preview of Saturday (Kansas City Star).

Bill Snyder says the Missouri State Bears have a formiddable front-seven on defense, in advance of the Bears’ efforts to notch their first win against the Wildcats. - KOLR

D.J. Reed has been a contributor on this stout defense, and he’s playing with a pretty big chip on his shoulder. Reed, only lightly recruited out of high school and barely at all out of JuCo, was an unknown even to his own team. But everyone around him is now suitably impressed (Timothy Everson, Collegian).

As Kansas State fans, we’re probably already aware of this, but the Wildcats lead the nation in touchdown returns since 2005. With 41 scoring returns since 2005, the Wildcats are by far the leaders in the country. Oklahoma State is next with 28 (Corbitt, Capital-Journal).

Miscellaneous

K-State Athletics is a major player within the university, but did you know that the athletic department also puts almost $500 million back into the local and state economy? A study by Angelou Economics of Austin, Texas using 2014-15 data found that over 4,000 jobs resulted from the impact of Kansas State athletics.

K-State alumnus and Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet has donated $50,000 to the university’s Johnson Cancer Research Center. The donation will support work by chemistry professors Stefan Bossmann and Christopher Culbertson to develop early cancer-detection technology (KSAL).

A study by the Biosecurity Research Institute at K-State has found that Culex mosquitoes - which transmit West Nile virus - are not able to transmit Zika. “It enables people to target their control strategies so that they aren’t wasting time and effort on a mosquito that isn’t transmitting Zika virus,” said Dana Vanlandingham, lead author of the study. Unfortunately, the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes that can spread Zika are present in Kansas (Science Daily, reporting on a new release from Kansas State University).

The Collegian continues its look inside The Pride of Wildcat Land, this time with a first-person narrative from freshman band member Bri Schock. (Collegian)

From the Flaw on the Kaw

In Lawrence, Bernadette Gray-Little announced Thursday she will step down as chancellor next summer. She is KU’s 17th chancellor and the first woman and African-American in the position. If my KU friends’ reactions are any indication, she will be missed (University of Kansas Press Release).

Happy Friday, all!