Washington State Cougars football

Last updated
Washington State Cougars football
AmericanFootball current event.svg 2023 Washington State Cougars football team
Washington State Cougars wordmark.svg
First season 1894
Athletic directorPatrick Chun
Head coach Jake Dickert
3nd season, 19–18 (.514)
Stadium Martin Stadium
(capacity: 33,522)
Year built 1972
Field surface FieldTurf
Location Pullman, Washington
NCAA division Division I FBS
Conference Pac-12 (1962–2024)
Past conferencesIndependent (1894–1916, 1959–1961)
Pacific Coast (1917–1958)
All-time record579–581–45 (.499)
Bowl record8–10 (.444)
Unclaimed national titles1 (1915)
Conference titles4 (1917, 1930, 1997, 2002)
Rivalries Washington (rivalry)
Idaho (rivalry)
Northwest Championship Oregon State
Consensus All-Americans8
Current uniform
Washington state football unif.png
ColorsCrimson and gray [1]
   
Fight song Washington State University Fight Song
Mascot Butch T. Cougar
Marching band Cougar Marching Band
Outfitter Nike
Website WSUCougars.com

The Washington State Cougars football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Washington State University, located in Pullman, Washington. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). Known as the Cougars, the first football team was fielded in 1894.

Contents

The Cougars play home games on campus at Martin Stadium, which opened in 1972; the site dates back to 1892 as Soldier Field and was renamed Rogers Field ten years later. Its present seating capacity is 33,522. [2] Their main rivals are the Washington Huskies; the teams historically end the regular season with the Apple Cup rivalry game in late November.

History

Early history (1894–1977)

Washington Agricultural College football team in 1900 1900 Washington Agricultural College football team.png
Washington Agricultural College football team in 1900

Washington State's first head football coach was William Goodyear. [3] That team played only two games in its inaugural season in 1894, posting a 1–1 record. [3] The team's first win was over Idaho. [3] The first paid head football coach was William L. Allen, who served as head coach in 1900 and 1902, [3] posting an overall record of 6–3–1. [3]

Washington Agricultural College and School of Science squares off against the University of Washington November 29, 1900, for the State Championship University of Washington and Washington Agricultural College and School of Science football game, showing players set at the (PEISER 30).jpeg
Washington Agricultural College and School of Science squares off against the University of Washington November 29, 1900, for the State Championship

John R. Bender served as head football coach from 1906 to 1907 and 1912–1914, compiling a record of 21–12. [4] William Henry Dietz was the Cougars' head football coach from 1915 to 1917, posting a stellar 17–2–1 record. [5] Dietz's 1915 team defeated Brown, now an FCS team, in the Rose Bowl and finished with a 7–0 record. The win is Washington State's only Rose Bowl or New Year's Six Bowl win. [6] Dietz was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2012. [7] Albert Exendine served as Washington State's head football coach from 1923 to 1925, posting a 6–13–4 overall record. [8] Babe Hollingbery was the Cougars' head football coach for 17 seasons, posting a 93–53–14 (.625) record. [9] His 93 wins are the most by any head football coach in Washington State football history. [10] Hollingbery's 1930 team played in the Rose Bowl, a game they lost to Alabama. [9] The Cougars didn't lose a single home game from 1926 to 1935. [10] Among the Cougar greats Hollingbery coached were Mel Hein, Turk Edwards, and Mel Dressel. [10] The Hollingbery Fieldhouse that serves many of Washington State's athletics teams, was named in his honor in 1963. [10] He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1979. [10] Like many other college football programs, the Cougars did not field a team in 1943 or 1944, due to World War II. [11] After the war ended, Phil Sarboe was hired away from Lincoln High School in Tacoma to return to his alma mater as the head coach. [11] Sarboe's Cougars posted a 17–26–3 (.402) record in his five seasons. [12]

Forest Evashevski took over as the head coach in late 1949. [13] His 1951 team finished the season ranked No. 14 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 18 in the AP Poll. [14] He was 11–6–2 (.632) in his two seasons in Pullman, [14] then left for Iowa in the Big Ten Conference. [13] Evashevski was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000. [13] Assistant coach Al Kircher was promoted, [15] but didn't enjoy as much success as his predecessor, going 13–25–2 (.350) in his four seasons as head coach. [16] He was not retained after his contract expired. [15] Jim Sutherland was Washington State's 21st head football coach and led the program for eight seasons, through 1963, [17] with an overall record of 37–39–4 (.488). [17] Previously an assistant at rival Washington, Bert Clark was WSU's head coach for four seasons, [18] posting an overall record of 15–24–1 (.388). [18] His best season was his second in 1965, when the WSU "Cardiac Kids" went 7–3; [18] they defeated three Big Ten teams on the road, [19] but lost to rivals Idaho and Washington. It was Clark's only winning season, as he failed to win more than three games in the other three. [18] Clark was not retained after the end of his fourth season. [19] Montana State head coach Jim Sweeney was hired prior to the 1968 season led the Cougars for eight seasons, [20] with an overall record of 26–59–1 (.308). [20] His best season was 1972 at 7–4, [20] which was his only winning season. [20] Sweeney resigned shortly after the 1975 season, [21] and was succeeded by Jackie Sherrill, the defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh, but he stayed for only one season. [22] The Cougars were 3–8 in 1976, [22] then Sherrill returned to Pitt as head coach. [23] Warren Powers, an assistant from Nebraska, also stayed for just one season (1977), [24] then returned to the Big Eight Conference as head coach at Missouri. [25]

Jim Walden era (1978–1986)

Jim Walden was promoted to head coach following the departure of Powers. [26] In nine seasons, Walden led the Cougars to one bowl appearance, the Holiday Bowl in 1981, a memorable loss to BYU. [26] [27] It was Washington State's first bowl in 51 years, since the 1931 Rose Bowl. [26] (The Pac-8 did not allow a second bowl team until 1975.) Walden won Pacific-10 Coach of the Year honors in 1981 and 1983. [26] [27] Walden's final record at Washington State was 44–52–4. [26] [27] Players coached by Walden at WSU include Jack Thompson, Kerry Porter, Rueben Mayes, Ricky Turner, Ricky Reynolds, Paul Sorensen, Brian Forde, Lee Blakeney, Mark Rypien, Dan Lynch, Pat Beach, Keith Millard, Erik Howard, and Cedrick Brown. [26] Walden left after the 1986 season for Iowa State in the Big Eight. [26] [28]

Dennis Erickson in 2007 Coach Dennis E interview.jpg
Dennis Erickson in 2007

Dennis Erickson era (1987–1988)

When hired in early 1987, 39-year-old Dennis Erickson said it was his lifelong dream to become the head football coach of the Cougars. [29] His contract was a five-year deal at an annual base salary of $70,000, with up to $30,000 from radio, television, and speaking obligations. [30] Erickson was previously the head coach at Wyoming for one season, preceded by four on the Palouse at neighboring Idaho. [29]

Erickson's Cougars posted a 3–7–1 record in his first season, but improved to 9–3 in 1988, [31] capped with a victory in the Aloha Bowl, the Cougars' first bowl victory since January 1916. [31] Although stating publicly a week earlier that he would not leave Washington State, [32] Erickson departed for Miami in March 1989; his overall record with the Cougars was 12–10–1 (.543). [33] [31]

Mike Price era (1989–2002)

Former Cougar player and assistant Mike Price returned to Pullman in 1989; he was previously the head coach for eight years at Weber State in Ogden, Utah. [34] Price led the Cougars to unprecedented success, taking his 1997 and 2002 teams to the Rose Bowl, both times losing. [34] The 1997 team was led by star quarterback Ryan Leaf, the second overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. [35] Those teams finished ranked No. 9 and No. 10 in the Coaches' and AP Polls, respectively. [34] [36] Price also led the Cougars to victories in the Copper, Alamo, and Sun Bowls, [34] [36] and had an overall record of 83–78 (.516) at WSU. [34] [36] It was during the 2002 season that Washington State received its highest ranking ever in the modern era in the AP Poll at No. 3. [34] Price left after the Rose Bowl for Alabama, [34] but was fired before ever coaching a game for the Crimson Tide, due to an off-the-field incident in the spring. [37]

Bill Doba era (2003–2007)

Defensive coordinator Bill Doba was promoted to head coach following Price's departure. [38] Things started out well in 2003, as they went 10–3 to finish ninth in both major polls. [39] The Cougars slipped to 5–6 in 2004 and 4–7 in 2005. [39] A 6–6 season in 2006 followed, [39] and after finishing the 2007 season at 5–7, [39] Doba was fired with an overall record of 30–28 (.517). [40]

Paul Wulff era (2008–2011)

Former Cougar center Paul Wulff was hired away from Eastern Washington in Cheney to succeed Doba. [41] Wulff struggled mightily as the WSU head coach, failing to win more than four games in a single season. [42] His overall record at Washington State was 9–40 (.184), [42] the lowest winning percentage of any head coach in Washington State football history, [43] and he was fired after the 2011 season. [44]

Mike Leach era (2012–2019)

Mike Leach in 2012 LeachMike092212-18.JPG
Mike Leach in 2012

In November 2011, it was announced that Mike Leach would replace Wulff as head coach. [45] Leach had previously spent ten seasons as head coach at Texas Tech. [46] In 2012, the new coaching staff installed an Air raid offense; an exciting, up-tempo, pass-oriented offensive attack which led the Pac-12 Conference in passing offense. [47] In his second season in 2013, Leach led Washington State to the New Mexico Bowl, the first bowl game for the Cougars in a decade. [47] Leach received a two-year contract extension that November, after leading the Cougars to their best record since 2006. [48]

In 2015, Leach guided the Washington State Cougars to their first bowl victory since the 2003 season. [49] In that same year, the team also posted a 9–4 winning season and was ranked in the AP Poll, Coach's Poll, and College Football Playoff ranking. Leach was named the Pac-12's co-Coach of the Year, [50] as well as the Associated Press Pac-12 Coach of the Year. [51] After the season, his contract was extended through the 2020 season. [52]

In 2016, sandwiched between a two-game losing streak to begin and three-game losing streak to end the season, the Cougars rode an eight-game winning streak to a place in the Holiday Bowl, but lost to Minnesota 17–12. [53] They finished with a 7-2 Pac-12 record and overall record of 8–5 for 2016. [54] Huge wins over Oregon and No. 15 Stanford contributed to the Cougars' best finish in Pac-12 conference play since the 2003 team went 6–2.

After the suicide of projected starting quarterback Tyler Hilinski in January 2018, [55] graduate transfer Gardner Minshew from East Carolina was recruited by Leach to fill the void. Minshew and other veteran players, such as sixth-year linebacker Peyton Pelluer, rallied the team in honor of their former teammate Hilinski and led Washington State to a memorable season for Cougar football fans. With a 28–26 win over No. 24 Iowa State in the Alamo Bowl, Washington State won eleven games for the first time in school history and finished the season 11–2.

Nick Rolovich era (2020–2021)

Nick Rolovich, at Mountain West Days. MountainWestMD-2016-0727-NickRolovich.png
Nick Rolovich, at Mountain West Days.

After the 2019 season, Mike Leach departed Washington State to accept the head coaching job at Mississippi State. Less than a week after Leach's departure, athletic director Pat Chun announced the hire of Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich. [56] On October 18, 2021, he was fired for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccination in compliance with Washington's state employee mandate. Rolovich originally signaled that he would receive the vaccination, but decided to file for a religious exemption. Rolovich was denied the exemption and terminated. Rolovich subsequently filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the university, Chun, and Washington Governor Jay Inslee. [57]

Jake Dickert era (2021–present)

Following the firing of Nick Rolovich, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jake Dickert was named as acting head coach. [58] Under Dickert's leadership, the Cougars fought to a 3–2 record, including a 40–13 victory over rival Washington in the 113th Apple Cup, snapping a seven-game losing streak in the rivalry. As a result, Dickert was hired as the permanent head coach on November 27. [59] The team concluded the 2021 season with a record of 7–5, with a 6–3 mark in-conference, good for a second-place finish in the Pac-12 North. The team lost to the Central Michigan Chippewas in the Sun Bowl 24–21. The following season in 2022 would result in the same overall record of 7–5 but worse in conference play at 4–5. The Cougars would get an invite to the LA Bowl where they would lose to the 9–4 Fresno State Bulldogs 29–6 leaving them with a final record of 7–6 for the 2022 season. The 2023–24 season would be the Cougars last in the Pac-12 Conference, which disbanded after this season. The 2023–24 season was a step back in terms of success with them going 5–7 and missing out on getting an invite to a bowl game. They finished the final year in the Pac-12 with an in-conference record of only 2–7. Starting in the 2023–24 season, the WSU Cougars football program will be a member of the Mountain West Conference, which former Pac-12 rival Oregon State is also joining.

Conference affiliations

Martin Stadium, from northeast corner in 2014 Martin Stadium Washing State University.jpg
Martin Stadium, from northeast corner in 2014

Washington State has been a member of the following conferences. [60] : 74–78 

Championships

Rose Bowl champions

The NCAA does not recognize any Washington State team as national champions. The university does not claim any national titles for football. Washington State has won 1 Rose Bowl dating back to 1916. [61]

The 1915 WSC team was unbeaten and untied and gave up only 10 points on the season. They were invited to the Tournament East-West football game, now known as the 1916 Rose Bowl, where they defeated Brown University, now an FCS team, 14–0. This was the second Rose Bowl game, after the original in 1902, and the first in the now annual continuous series. The win is Washington State's only Rose Bowl or New Year's Six Bowl win. [6]

There was no contemporary system for determining a national champion in the early years of college football. NCAA-designated major selectors have retroactively variously named Cornell, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Pittsburgh champions or co-champions for the 1915 college football season.

Rose Bowl referee Walter Eckersall, who also officiated a Cornell game that season, was quoted as saying "[WSC] is the equal of Cornell. There is not a better football team in the country." [62] The Associated Press referred to the 1915 WSC team as "mythical national champions" when members of the team returned to Pullman for a 20th anniversary celebration in 1935. [63] In 2014, Washington State Senate Resolution 8715 recognized the team as national champions on the season's 99th anniversary. [64] The senate resolution was adopted with WSU head football coach Mike Leach in attendance.

YearCoachSelectorRecordBowlOpponentResult
1915 William "Lone Star" Dietz Washington State Senate [64] [lower-alpha 1] 7–0 Rose Bowl Brown W 14–0
  1. ↑ Not an NCAA-designated major selector.

Conference championships

Dating back to their days in the Pacific Coast Conference, Washington State won four conference titles. [65]

SeasonConferenceCoachRecordOverall
1917 Pacific Coast William Dietz 3–06–0–1
1930 Pacific Coast Babe Hollingbery 6–19–1
  1997 Pacific-10 Mike Price 7–110–2
  2002 Pacific-10Mike Price7–110–3

2x Pac-10 Champions

Division championships

SeasonDivisionCoachOpponentCG result
  2018^Pac-12 North Mike Leach N/A – lost tiebreaker to Washington
^ Co-championship

2018 Pac-12 North Division Champions

Bowl games

Washington State has made 18 bowl appearances, with a record of 8–10 through the 2021 season. [66] The Cougars have played in four Rose Bowls (1 win, 3 losses), three Holiday Bowls (1 win, 2 losses), the Sun Bowl (2 wins), Alamo Bowl (2 wins), Aloha Bowl (1 win), Copper Bowl (1 win), New Mexico Bowl (1 loss), and LA Bowl (1 loss). [67] Prior to the 1975 season, the Pac-8 allowed only bowl team, to the Rose Bowl.

From 2015 through 2018, the Cougars made four consecutive bowl appearances for the first time in program history, all under head coach Mike Leach.

No.SeasonCoachBowlOpponentResult
1 1915 William Dietz Rose Brown W 14–0
2 1930 Babe Hollingbery Rose Alabama L 0–24
3 1981 Jim Walden Holiday BYU L 36–38
4 1988 Dennis Erickson Aloha Houston W 24–22
5 1992 Mike Price Copper Utah W 31–28
6 1994 Mike Price Alamo Baylor W 10–3
7 1997 Mike Price Rose Michigan L 16–21
8 2001 Mike Price Sun Purdue W 33–27
9 2002 Mike Price Rose Oklahoma L 14–34
10 2003 Bill Doba Holiday Texas W 28–20
11 2013 Mike Leach New Mexico Colorado State L 45–48
12 2015 Mike Leach Sun Miami (FL) W 20–14
13 2016 Mike Leach Holiday Minnesota L 12–17
14 2017 Mike Leach Holiday Michigan State L 17–42
15 2018 Mike Leach Alamo Iowa State W 28–26
16 2019 Mike Leach Cheez-It Air Force L 21–31
17 2021 Jake Dickert Sun Central Michigan L 21–24
18 2022 Jake Dickert LA Fresno State L 6–29

Head coaches

[68] : 114 

SeasonsCoachYearsRecordPct.
1894 William Goodyear 1  1–1.500
1895 Fred Waite 1  2–01.000
1896 David Brodie 1  2–0–11.000
1897 Robert Gailey 1  2–01.000
1898–99 Frank Shively 2  1–1–1.500
1900, 1902 William Allen 2  6–3–1.650
1901 William Namack 1  4–1.800
1903 James Ashmore 1  3–3–2.500
1904–1905 Everett Sweeley 2  6–6.500
1906–1907,
1912–1914		 John Bender 521–12.636
1908 Walter Rheinschild 1  4–0–2.833
1909 Willis Kienholz 1  4–1.800
1910–1911 Oscar Osthoff 2  5–6.454
1915–1917 William Dietz 317–2–1.875
1918 Emory Alvord 1  1–1.500
1919–1922 Gus Welch 416–10–1.611
1923–1925 Albert Exendine 3  6–13–4.348
1926–1942 Babe Hollingbery 1593–53–14.625
1943–1944 World War II – no teams
1945–1949 Phil Sarboe 517–26–3.402
1950–1951 Forest Evashevski 211–6–2.632
1952–1955 Al Kircher 413–25–2.350
1956–1963 Jim Sutherland 837–39–4.488
1964–1967 Bert Clark 415–24–1.388
1968–1975 Jim Sweeney 826–59–1.308
1976 Jackie Sherrill 1  3–8.273
1977 Warren Powers 1  6–5.545
1978–1986 Jim Walden 944–52–4.460
1987–1988 Dennis Erickson 212–10–1.543
1989–2002 Mike Price 1483–78.516
2003–2007 Bill Doba 530–29.508
2008–2011 Paul Wulff 4  9–40.184
2012–2019 Mike Leach 855–47.539
2020–2021 Nick Rolovich 2  5–6.455
2021–Present Jake Dickert 3  19–16.543

Rivalries

Washington

Washington State has had a rivalry with Washington since first playing 124 years ago years ago in 1900. The series is 74–33–6 (.681)in favor of Washington, with the Huskies taking the most recent game in 2022. The teams played for the "Governor's Trophy" from 1934 to 1961. [69] The game was renamed the Apple Cup in 1962 because of Washington's national reputation as a major producer of apples. Since 2011, the game is commonly played on the Friday after Thanksgiving. [70]

Oregon State

The rivalry between Washington State started in 1895 when Washington State defeated the Beavers 41–35. The rivalry between the two schools has transformed as the one that's kept the Pac-12 going. And after 10 of the 12 schools left the conference in conference expansion the two schools stayed to reap the rewards that the other 10 schools left behind. Both Washington State and Oregon State plan to schedule the Mountain West for the next 2 years and possibly have the "Pac-2" merge with the Mountain West by 2026–2027. The Cougars have led the series 57-48 and won the most recent matchup with a score of 38–35 in 2023. The Beavers largest margin of victory was 66–13 in 2008, while the Cougars largest margin of victory was 55–7 in 1991. Oregon State's longest win streak against the Cougars is 6 straight from 1966 to 1971, while Washington State's longest against the Beavers is 10 straight from 1983 to 1993.

Idaho

The two land-grant universities are less than eight miles (13 km) apart on the rural Palouse in the Inland Northwest; the University of Idaho campus in Moscow is nearly on the Idaho–Washington border, and Washington State's campus is directly west, on the east side of Pullman, linked by Washington State Route 270 and the Bill Chipman Palouse Trail. The first game was played 130 years ago in November 1894 and resulted in a win for Washington State. The series has been played intermittently since 1978, It was revived as an annual game for a full decade (1998–2007) and the Cougars won eight of the ten. Idaho returned to lower-level FCS play in 2018 but the teams continue to schedule games. Washington State leads the series 73–14 against the Vandals.

Utah

Utah lead the series 11-9 and first played against the Cougars in 1977.

Northwest Championship

Washington State won the 1983 Northwest Championship by sweeping rivals Washington, Oregon State and Oregon.

Individual accomplishments

Heisman Trophy voting

Eight Cougars have finished in the Top 10 of the Heisman Trophy voting. [71] Ryan Leaf had the highest finish in the Heisman balloting in program history, [72] at third in 1997.

SeasonNamePositionPlace
1978 Jack Thompson QB 9th
1984 Rueben Mayes RB 10th
1988 Timm Rosenbach QB 7th
1992 Drew Bledsoe QB 8th
1997 Ryan Leaf QB 3rd
2002 Jason Gesser QB 7th
2005 Jerome Harrison RB 9th
2018 Gardner Minshew QB 5th

Consensus All-America selections

There have been seven Washington State players named consensus All-Americans through the 2017 season. Cody O'Connell was named twice, making the all-time school total eight. Both Jason Hanson (1989) and Cody O'Connell (2016) were unanimous selections. [73] Additionally, Washington State has had 39 first team All-America selections through the 2017 season. [68] : 120 

PlayerPositionSeasonsSelections
Rueben Mayes RB 1982–19851984
Mike Utley G 1985–19881988
Jason Hanson K 1988–19911989^
Rien Long T 2000–20022002
Jerome Harrison RB2004–20052005
Cody O'Connell OT 2013–20172016^, 2017
Hercules Mata'afa DE 2015–20172017
^ Unanimous selection

College Football Hall of Fame

Five players and three coaches from the program have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. [74] [75] [76] [77]

PlayerPositionSeasonsInductedRef.
Mel Hein C 1929–19311954 [74]
Turk Edwards T 1929–19311975 [74]
Babe Hollingbery Coach 1926–19421979 [74]
Rueben Mayes RB 1982–19852008 [74]
William Dietz Coach1915–19172012 [75]
Mike Utley G 1985–19882016 [76]
Dennis Erickson Coach 1987–19882019 [76]
Jason Hanson K 1988–19912020 [77]

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Two Cougars have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. [78]

PlayerPositionSeasonsNFL TeamNFL YearsInducted
Mel Hein C 1927–1931 New York Giants 1931–19451963
Turk Edwards T 1929–1931 Washington Redskins 1932–19401969

Canadian Football Hall of Fame

Four Cougars have been inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

PlayerPositionSeasonsCFL Team(s)CFL YearsInductedRef.
Byron Bailey RB 1949–1951 B.C. Lions 1954–19641975 [79]
George Reed RB1959–1962 Saskatchewan Roughriders 1963–19751979 [79]
Brian Kelly WR, coach 1975–1977 Edmonton Eskimos 1979–19871991 [79]
Hugh Campbell WR, coach,
executive		1959–1962Edmonton Eskimos,
Saskatchewan Roughriders		1964–20062000 [80]

Retired numbers

The Cougars have officially retired two numbers.

No.PlayerPositionCareerRef.
7 Mel Hein C 1927–31 [81]
14 Jack Thompson QB 1974–78 [81]

Special cases

Those numbers are not officially retired, but have not been reissued to any player either. [82]

No.PlayerPositionCareerRef.
11 Drew Bledsoe QB 1990–92 [82]
16 Ryan Leaf QB 1994–97 [82]
91 Leon Bender [n1 1] DT 1994–1997 [82]
Notes
  1. ↑ Posthumously. Bender was found dead only six weeks after being drafted by the Oakland Raiders. He was 22 years old. [83] [84]

FWAA Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award

The Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award is given annually to a college football coach by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). Mike Price is the first and only coach in the Washington State football program history to have received this distinguished award. [85]

YearCoachRecord
1997 Mike Price 10–2

AFCA National Coach of the Year

The AFCA Coach of the Year Award is given annually to a college football coach by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Mike Leach is the first and only coach in the Washington State football program history to have received this distinguished award. [86]

YearCoachRecord
2018 Mike Leach 11–2

Pac-12 Coach of the Year

Five Washington State football head coaches have received the annual award a total of eight times as the conference's Coach of the Year. [87]

SeasonCoachRecord
1981 Jim Walden 8–3–1
1983 Jim Walden7–4
  1988^ Dennis Erickson 9–3
1997 Mike Price 10–2
2001 Mike Price10–2
  2003^ Bill Doba 10–3
  2015^ Mike Leach 9–4
2018 Mike Leach 11–2
^ Shared honor

Notable players

Future opponents

On December 1, 2023, it was announced that the Cougars and the Oregon State Beavers would each play 6 Mountain West Conference opponents, 5 opponents from the Power Five conferences and one FCS opponent for the 2024 season. [88]

2024202520262027202820292030203120322033
Portland State Idaho at Kansas State Idaho at Kansas Kansas State at Mississippi State Mississippi State at Boise State Boise State
Texas Tech [89] San Diego State Fresno State Kansas at Washington Idaho vs North Texas at San Jose State
vs Washington at North Texas at Washington at Fresno State
San Jose State Washington Washington
at San Diego State
at Oregon State(TBD) [89]

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The 1978 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Under new head coach Jim Walden, the Cougars compiled a 4–6–1 record, and were outscored 296 to 276. The six home games were split evenly between Martin Stadium on campus in Pullman and Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 Washington State Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 1986 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their ninth and final season under head coach Jim Walden, the Cougars compiled a 3–7–1 record (2–6–1 in Pac-10, eighth place) and were outscored 312 to 221.

The 2013 New Mexico Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on Saturday, December 21, 2013 at University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The eighth annual New Mexico Bowl, it featured the Colorado State Rams, representing the Mountain West Conference, against the Washington State Cougars, representing the Pac-12 Conference. The game began at 12:00 noon MST and was televised on ESPN. It was the first of the 35 2013–14 NCAA football bowl games that concluded the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Sponsored by Gildan Activewear, the game was officially known as the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. The Rams won 48–45 after they were down 15 points in the final minutes of the game; they scored a touchdown, Washington State lost two fumbles, after both of which, Colorado State scored, and after the latter of which, as time expired, they kicked a field goal to win the game.

The 2015 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by fourth-year head coach Mike Leach and played their home games at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. They were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 6–3 in Pac-12 play to finish in third place in the North Division. They were invited to the Sun Bowl where they defeated the Miami Hurricanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Falk</span> American football player (born 1994)

Lucas Andrew Falk is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Washington State, and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was also a member of the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and Saskatchewan Roughriders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 Washington State Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 1968 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) during the 1968 NCAA University Division football season. In their first season under head coach Jim Sweeney, the Cougars compiled a 3–6–1 record, and outscored their opponents 189 to 188. The final two games were shutout victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1970 Washington State Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 1970 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. In their third season under head coach Jim Sweeney, the Cougars compiled a 1–10 record, and were outscored 460 to 231.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 Washington State Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 1976 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. In their only season under head coach Jackie Sherrill, the Cougars compiled a 3–8 record, and were outscored 331 to 240.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 Washington State Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 1985 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth season under head coach Jim Walden, the Cougars compiled a 4–7 record, and outscored their opponents 313 to 282. Home games were played on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 Washington State Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 1989 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first season under head coach Mike Price, the Cougars compiled a 6–5 record, and outscored their opponents 351 to 268.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Washington State Cougars football team</span> American college football season

The 2019 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Mike Leach, the Cougars competed in the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference, and played their home games on campus at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

The 2020 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Nick Rolovich. The team played their home games in Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington, and competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.

The 2021 Washington State Cougars football team represented Washington State University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Nick Rolovich for the first seven games of the season. Rolovich was fired on October 18 after refusing to comply with Washington's COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Defensive coordinator Jake Dickert took over as the team's interim head coach for the reminder of the season. He was announced as the Cougars 34th head coach following their Apple Cup victory on November. The team played their home games in Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington, and competed as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.

References

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