Longtime Kansas State coach Bill Snyder is retiring as the school's football coach for a second time, the school announced Sunday.

Last week, the Wildcats completed a 5-7 campaign under the 79-year-old Snyder, who is 215-117-1 in his 27 seasons at the school. A loss to Iowa State on the final Saturday of the season ended a run of eight consecutive bowl appearances for the Wildcats.

“Coach Snyder has had an immeasurable impact on our football program, Kansas State University, the Manhattan community and the entire state of Kansas, and it has been an honor and a privilege to get to know and work with him the past two years,” Kansas State athletics director Gene Taylor said in a statement. “He and his family have touched the lives of so many people, from student-athletes, coaches, staff and fans, and he is truly one of the greatest coaches and leaders in college football history. His impact on college football is unmatched and legacy is one that will last a lifetime.”

Snyder's success at Kansas State is considered one of the great achievements in college football. Before his first season in 1989, the Wildcats had won just three games in four seasons. The program had been to one bowl game in its history and had just two seasons with six wins since 1934.

It took five seasons for Snyder get to a bowl game, which started a run of 11 years in row in the postseason. Along the way, the Wildcats contended for Big 12 titles, winning one in 2003, and also twice appeared in Cotton Bowl and Fiesta Bowl twice.

The 1998 team led by Heisman Trophy runner-up Michael Bishop went 12-0 during the regular season and was ranked No. 1 four weeks. The Wildcats were one win away from the BCS championship game but fell to Texas A&M in the Big 12 title game.

Snyder previously retired after the 2005 season, when the school renamed its stadium Bill Snyder Family Stadium in his honor. However, after Ron Prince failed to match his results in his three years, Snyder decided return to the sideline in 2009.

Four years later, Kansas State was again a national title contender. They won their 10 games of the season before a loss to Baylor resulted in the team sharing the Big 12 title with Oklahoma.

Snyder was diagnosed with throat cancer in the winter of 2017. He continued coaching while speculation about the future of the program centered on his anticipated desire for his son and longtime assistant Sean Snyder to succeed him.

But Snyder told USA TODAY Sports in 2017 he wasn't thrilled with that idea.

“I told him I would prefer he didn’t,” Snyder says, “just because I hate to guide anybody in that direction. It can beat you down. It’s a lifetime-consuming happening. But he wants to do it, and I support him 150 percent.”

Under terms of his contract with Kansas State, Snyder, if he is not fired for cause, will have an administrative role in the athletic department when he retires and have "appropriate input" into the hiring of the next football coach.

“It’s their decision to make,” Snyder says. “I’m sure they’ll have a good reason for doing what they do. If Sean really wanted to do it then yes, it would be disappointing.”

Contributing: George Schroeder