It is not all that surprising that the two main KS universities have older people running the show, it's pretty common across higher ed. Although, this comment has me concerned a bit about our dear old AD:
“That's one of the beautiful things about K-State is our fans are extremely supportive of our program,” Taylor said. “Pound-for-pound in terms of our number of alumni and the areas in which we pull from of our fan base, I would say our fans give — I've never done a study — but I would say our fans support us a great deal ... and equally as well as anybody in the country.”
Hey Gene, you're the AD, maybe spend some time doing that study that you've never done? Concerning to me is not age, but the regurgitation of talking points that aren't evidence based from university leadership.
Been awhile since I've lived in KS, but I think many more families are price conscious now. Given the lack of state support for higher ed in KS, KU and KSU look a lot more unreasonable to the average Kansan, especially when you consider the community college options. How is enrollment at community college's in the state?
All of this is to say, KSU was probably in for a decline. I'd view this more as a trend in higher ed in general, than something KSU specific. Even some "prestigious" schools are struggling with enrollment right now. FWIW, I work in a state higher ed system that is well supported, relative to most states in the country, where full time (12 or more credit hours) in-state tuition per semester is $3,335. We can keep this so low as a result of support from the statehouse. I'd lay the blame, in the KS case, with the statehouse more than internal KSU factors.