College Coaching Career
Prince succeeded head coach Bill Snyder at Kansas State following the 2005 season. When he started his first season at Kansas State, in 2006, he was 36 years old and the third-youngest head coach in the Division I-Bowl Subdivision.
During the 2006 season, Prince led Kansas State to its first winning record since 2003 with a 7–6 mark, as well as a berth in the inaugural Texas Bowl. The hallmark win of the regular season was a 45–42 upset of then #4 Texas on November 11, 2006. Kansas State lost the 2006 Texas Bowl to #16 Rutgers, 37–10.
In Prince's second season, Kansas State slipped to a 5–7 record, including a four-game losing streak to end the year. He also led the Wildcats to their first home loss against Kansas in over a decade.
On National Signing Day in February 2008, 19 junior college recruits signed to play football at Kansas State, although only 15 of them were able to enroll in the fall. As a result, Kansas State's 2008 recruiting class reportedly contains more junior college players than any other class ever compiled by current BCS teams. Some have criticized this as "panicking" to get good players, while others have praised Prince's moves, pointing out his predecessor Bill Snyder's success with using junior college players.
At the beginning of Prince's third season, on August 7, 2008, Ron Prince agreed to a new contract through the 2012 season. The deal was retroactive to January 1, 2008, and ran through December 31, 2012, replacing the original contract signed in December 2005. Prince's base salary for 2008 was $143,000 with a total guaranteed package of $1.1 million, which also included payments from endorsements such as television, radio, internet, personal appearances and apparel. Prince could have earned up to an additional $950,000 per year in performance-based incentives.
On November 5, 2008, Prince was fired from his position as head coach. He received a $1.2 million buyout and an additional $150,000 of a $250,000 longevity bonus.
In 2009, Prince was rehired by the University of Virginia as special teams coach.
Before coaching at Kansas State University, Prince served for three seasons as offensive coordinator under Al Groh at the University of Virginia, and for a total of five years as the Cavaliers' offensive line coach. Prior to first stint at Virginia, Prince also served as an assistant coach at South Carolina State, James Madison and Cornell.
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