He was selected as a first-team All-American football player in 1901 and the MVP of the 1902 Rose Bowl, a game in which he scored five touchdowns.

Snow was born into a wealthy family in Detroit, and attended local Central High School.

"[2] In January 1902, the Detroit Free Press opined: "There is no student in the country who is more entitled to the distinction of being an ideal collegian than Neil Snow.

[8] Elbel's lyric, "Champions of the West", refers to Michigan's having won the Western Conference championship for the first time in the school's history.

Yost later compared Snow to Jim Thorpe for his athletic versatility and opined, "I don't think I have ever seen a better end than he was.

[16] Snow was named the Most Valuable Player of the game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively.

[18] Whitney wrote: "To be fast, to break interference, and to be wise about the time of going in, make up the requisites of an end rusher, and all of these Snow possessed in a marked degree.

"[19] His final game as a Wolverine baseball player was a 7–4 win over Cornell, in which Snow was responsible for six runs, including three RBIs on a bases-loaded triple.

Seeking to focus on the shot put, Snow resigned the captaincy of the baseball team in February 1902.

[23] In June 1905, Snow's younger brother broke his neck in an accident in switching sand cars at Hammond, Indiana.

Newspaper accounts indicate that Neil Snow hurried to his brother's bedside at St. Margaret's hospital in Hammond.

[21] Snow continued to remain involved in sports and was a popular choice as an official for football games for the Eastern and Western schools.

[24][25] One writer noted: "The larger colleges in the East had come to realize with what great efficiency Neil Snow acted as an official and his services were eagerly sought.

He became ill after a game of squash at the Detroit Racquet and Curling Club and after having his dinner, took a taxi cab to his doctor's office, where he collapsed and died from a heart attack.

"[28] He was cited as proof that endless competition puts undue strain on the heart and nerves, with one article noting: "Snow was big and powerful and always in fine condition.

[6]The noted football expert Walter Camp said of Snow: "No college ever developed a better all-around athlete.

[3] In 1907, The Washington Post named Snow one of the three greatest football players to have played in the West, along with Walter Eckersall and Willie Heston.

As a ball player he batted over .390 for Michigan his last two years and received at least three good offers from big league clubs.

[31][32] Rice called Snow "a football marvel, hurdler, jumper and shot putter and one of the best ball players Michigan ever knew.