In 1954, the Green Bay Packers used the 4th pick in the 1st round of the 1954 NFL draft to sign Switzer out of Kansas State University where he played from 1951 to 1953.

Switzer went on to play for two seasons with the Packers before serving two years in the United States Air Force as a first lieutenant.

Switzer later worked for the Chicago Board of Education for ten years before returning to Kansas State as an administrator in 1969.

[1] He was Co-Director, Earl Woods National Youth Golf Academy and Associate Athletic Director for Academics.

Switzer developed Kansas State's first university-wide student minority program, including numerous programs which are still extant, including Ebony Theater, United Black Voices, a Black Student Union, and Hispanic advocacy groups.