What happens when Sports Day meets Meet the Team night? A dinner honoring Mark Snyder and the Ironton Fighting Tigers football team.

Sunday, July 01, 2001

What happens when Sports Day meets Meet the Team night? A dinner honoring Mark Snyder and the Ironton Fighting Tigers football team.

The 2nd Annual Ironton Appreciation Dinner will honor former Ironton athletic standout and current Ohio State Buckeyes assistant coach Mark Snyder at 7 p.m. Friday, July 27, at Tanks Memorial Stadium.

Not only will Snyder be honored, but fans will get the chance to meet and talk with the members of this year’s Fighting Tigers football team.

"There’s been a void the past few years with no Sports Day," Ironton athletic director Mike Burcham said. "We feel like there are still a lot of people who should be honored and Mark Snyder is one of those individuals.

"Mark was not only a successful player at Ironton, but he’s been a success at his job and with his family. He’s a class act we want to recognize that fact."

The dinner will be catered by the Scioto Ribber of Portsmouth. Tickets for the dinner are on sale for $10 at Bob Clyse Oldsmobile, Bob Linn Sporting Goods, and from any Ironton Fighting Tigers football coach.

First-year Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel is expected to speak along with assistant coach Ken Conatser.

Snyder, 36, was an assistant coach under Tressel at Youngstown State before taking an assistant coaching position at Minnesota. When Tressel was hired at Ohio State, he called Snyder who accepted the position of linebacker coach and recruiting southeastern Ohio.

Snyder also coached at Central Florida and his alma mater, Marshall University.

As a player, Snyder was an All-Ohio selection at Ironton and was a key figure as the team reached the 1982 state championship game.

"Snyder was a great competitor," Ironton football coach Bob Lutz said. "He was tough physically and mentally. He was a good athlete and not just a good quarterback. He could run and he would come up in the secondary and throw a hard lick."

Snyder played college ball at several schools before landing at Marshall where he was first team All-Southern Conference and a Division I-AA honorable mention All-American his senior year. Snyder set a school record with 10 interceptions in one season and helped the team to the I-AA national championship game.

Snyder and his wife Beth, who is also a native of Ironton and a graduate of Ironton High School and the University of Kentucky, have three daughters: Chelsea (8), Lindsay (7) and Shaylee (born Jan. 22, 2001).