Kansas State Univ. football coach BILL SNYDER "found himself in the middle of a nasty late-in-the-game political pileup after he was filmed praising" U.S. Sen. PAT ROBERTS (R-Kan.) and the video "was used in a campaign ad," according to Beaumont & Hanna of the AP. Roberts is "locked in a close re-election battle with independent challenger GREG ORMAN." In the ad, Snyder is asked who he would vote for, replying with, "My good friend Pat Roberts, of course." The coach's "unusual foray into politics raised eyebrows at the university." KSU President KIRK SCHULZ "reminded school employees not to endorse political candidates and instructed staff to contact the Roberts campaign to take down the ad." Schulz in an e-mail wrote Snyder was "unaware it was going to be used in such a fashion and was apologetic for the resulting issues." Snyder said, "I made a mistake. I embarrassed the university. That's my responsibility. That's my error" (AP, 11/2). In Topeka, Tim Carpenter noted it is "not clear whether Snyder violated state law, university policy or provisions of his contract by making use of public resources while participating in the campaign ad." Video in the ad "was shot" on KSU's campus (TOPEKA CAPITAL-JOURNAL, 11/1).
ROCK THE VOTE: This week's issue of SportsBusiness Journal takes a look at Election Day from a sports business point of view, including how much money has been spent on campaign ads airing during NFL games.
