| Washington State Cougars football | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
 | |||
| First season | 1894; 131 years ago | ||
| Athletic director | Anne McCoy[1] | ||
| Head coach | Jimmy Rogers 1st season, 5–6 (.455) | ||
| Stadium | Martin Stadium (capacity: 35,117) | ||
| Year built | 1972 | ||
| Location | Pullman, Washington | ||
| NCAA division | Division I FBS | ||
| Conference | Pac-12 | ||
| All-time record | 584–587–45 (.499) | ||
| Bowl record | 8–11 (.421) | ||
| Unclaimed national titles | |||
| 1915 | |||
| Conference titles | |||
| PCC:1917,1930 Pac-12:1997,2002 | |||
| Conference division titles | |||
| Pac-12 North:2018 | |||
| Consensus All-Americans | 8 | ||
| Rivalries | Idaho (rivalry) Oregon State (rivalry) Washington (rivalry) Northwest Championship | ||
| Current uniform | |||
 | |||
| Colors | Crimson and gray[2] | ||
| Fight song | Washington State University Fight Song | ||
| Mascot | Butch T. Cougar | ||
| Marching band | Cougar Marching Band | ||
| Outfitter | Nike | ||
| Website | WSUCougars.com | ||
TheWashington State Cougars football program is the intercollegiateAmerican football team forWashington State University, located inPullman, Washington. The team competes at theNCAA Division I level in theFBS and is a member of thePac-12 Conference (Pac-12) Known as theCougars, the first football team was fielded in1894.
The Cougars play home games on campus atMartin Stadium, which opened in1972; the site dates back to 1892 asSoldier Field and was renamedRogers Field ten years later. Its presentseating capacity is 35,117.[3] Their main rivals are theWashington Huskies; the teams historically end the regular season with theApple Cup rivalry game in late November but that is no longer the case with the Washington Huskies joining the Big Ten.
Washington State's first head football coach wasWilliam Goodyear.[4] That team played only two games in its inaugural season in 1894, posting a 1–1 record.[4] The team's first win was overIdaho.[4] The first paid head football coach wasWilliam L. Allen, who served as head coach in 1900 and 1902,[4] posting an overall record of 6–3–1.[4]
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John R. Bender served as head football coach from 1906 to 1907 and 1912–1914, compiling a record of 21–12.[5]William Henry Dietz was the Cougars' head football coach from 1915 to 1917, posting a stellar 17–2–1 record.[6] Dietz's 1915 team defeatedBrown, now anFCS team, in theRose Bowl and finished with a 7–0 record. The win is Washington State's only Rose Bowl orNew Year's Six Bowl win.[7] Dietz was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2012.[8]Albert Exendine served as Washington State's head football coach from 1923 to 1925, posting a 6–13–4 overall record.[9]Babe Hollingbery was the Cougars' head football coach for 17 seasons, posting a 93–53–14 (.625) record.[10] His 93 wins are the most by any head football coach in Washington State football history.[11] Hollingbery's1930 team played in theRose Bowl, a game they lost toAlabama.[10] The Cougars didn't lose a single home game from 1926 to 1935.[11] Among the Cougar greats Hollingbery coached wereMel Hein,Turk Edwards, andMel Dressel.[11] The Hollingbery Fieldhouse that serves many of Washington State's athletics teams, was named in his honor in 1963.[11] He was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1979.[11] Like many other college football programs, the Cougars did not field a team in1943 or1944, due toWorld War II.[12] After the war ended,Phil Sarboe was hired away fromLincoln High School inTacoma to return to his alma mater as the head coach.[12] Sarboe's Cougars posted a 17–26–3 (.402) record in his five seasons.[13]
Forest Evashevski took over as the head coach in late 1949.[14] His1951 team finished the season ranked No. 14 in the Coaches' Poll and No. 18 in the AP Poll.[15] He was 11–6–2 (.632) in his two seasons in Pullman,[15] then left forIowa in theBig Ten Conference.[14] Evashevski was inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2000.[14] Assistant coachAl Kircher was promoted,[16] but didn't enjoy as much success as his predecessor, going 13–25–2 (.350) in his four seasons as head coach.[17] He was not retained after his contract expired.[16]Jim Sutherland was Washington State's 21st head football coach and led the program for eight seasons, through1963,[18] with an overall record of 37–39–4 (.488).[18] Previously an assistant at rivalWashington,Bert Clark was WSU's head coach for four seasons,[19] posting an overall record of 15–24–1 (.388).[19] His best season was his second in1965, when the WSU "Cardiac Kids" went 7–3;[19] they defeated three Big Ten teams on the road,[20] but lost to rivalsIdaho andWashington. It was Clark's only winning season, as he failed to win more than three games in the other three.[19] Clark was not retained after the end of his fourth season.[20]Montana State head coachJim Sweeney was hired prior to the1968 season led the Cougars for eight seasons,[21] with an overall record of 26–59–1 (.308).[21] His best season was1972 at 7–4,[21] which was his only winning season.[21] Sweeney resigned shortly after the1975 season,[22] and was succeeded byJackie Sherrill, the defensive coordinator atPittsburgh, but he stayed for only one season.[23] The Cougars were 3–8 in1976,[23] then Sherrill returned to Pitt ashead coach.[24]Warren Powers, an assistant fromNebraska, also stayed for just one season (1977),[25] then returned to theBig Eight Conference as head coach atMissouri.[26]
Jim Walden was promoted to head coach following the departure of Powers.[27] In nine seasons, Walden led the Cougars to one bowl appearance, theHoliday Bowl in1981, a memorable loss toBYU.[27][28] It was Washington State's first bowl in 51 years, since the1931 Rose Bowl.[27] (The Pac-8 did not allow a second bowl team until1975.) Walden won Pacific-10 Coach of the Year honors in1981 and1983.[27][28] Walden's final record at Washington State was 44–52–4.[27][28] Players coached by Walden at WSU includeJack 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, andCedrick Brown.[27] Walden left after the1986 season forIowa State in the Big Eight.[27][29]
When hired in early1987, 39-year-oldDennis Erickson said it was his lifelong dream to become the head football coach of the Cougars.[30] 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.[31] Erickson was previously the head coach atWyoming for one season, preceded by four on the Palouse at neighboringIdaho.[30]
Erickson's Cougars posted a 3–7–1 record in his first season, but improved to 9–3 in1988,[32] capped with a victory in theAloha Bowl, the Cougars' first bowl victory since January1916.[32] Although stating publicly a week earlier that he would not leave Washington State,[33] Erickson departed forMiami in March 1989; his overall record with the Cougars was 12–10–1 (.543).[34][32]
Former Cougar player and assistantMike Price returned to Pullman in1989; he was previously the head coach for eight years atWeber State inOgden, Utah.[35] Price led the Cougars to unprecedented success, taking his1997 and2002 teams to the Rose Bowl, both times losing.[35] The 1997 team was led by star quarterbackRyan Leaf, the second overall pick in the1998 NFL draft by theSan Diego Chargers.[36] Those teams finished ranked No. 9 and No. 10 in the Coaches' and AP Polls, respectively.[35][37] Price also led the Cougars to victories in the Copper, Alamo, and Sun Bowls,[35][37] and had an overall record of 83–78 (.516) at WSU.[35][37] It was during the 2002 season that Washington State received its highest ranking ever in the modern era in theAP Poll at No. 3.[35] Price left after the Rose Bowl forAlabama,[35] but was fired before ever coaching a game for the Crimson Tide, due to an off-the-field incident in the spring.[38]
Defensive coordinatorBill Doba was promoted to head coach following Price's departure.[39] Things started out well in2003, as they went 10–3 to finish ninth inboth major polls.[40] The Cougars slipped to 5–6 in2004 and 4–7 in2005.[40] A 6–6 season in2006 followed,[40] and after finishing the2007 season at 5–7,[40] Doba was fired with an overall record of 30–28 (.517).[41]
Former Cougar centerPaul Wulff was hired away fromEastern Washington inCheney to succeed Doba.[42] Wulff struggled mightily as the WSU head coach, failing to win more than four games in a single season.[43] His overall record at Washington State was 9–40 (.184),[43] the lowest winning percentage of any head coach in Washington State football history,[44] and he was fired after the2011 season.[45]
In November 2011, it was announced thatMike Leach would replace Wulff as head coach.[46] Leach had previously spent ten seasons as head coach atTexas Tech.[47] In2012, the new coaching staff installed anAir raid offense; an exciting, up-tempo, pass-oriented offensive attack which led the Pac-12 Conference in passing offense.[48] In his second season in2013, Leach led Washington State to theNew Mexico Bowl, the first bowl game for the Cougars in a decade.[48] Leach received a two-year contract extension that November, after leading the Cougars to their best record since2006.[49]
In2015, Leach guided the Washington State Cougars to their first bowl victory since the2003 season.[50] 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,[51] as well as theAssociated Press Pac-12 Coach of the Year.[52] After the season, his contract was extended through the 2020 season.[53]
In2016, sandwiched between a two-game losing streak to begin and a three-game losing streak to end the season, the Cougars rode an eight-game winning streak to a place in theHoliday Bowl, but lost toMinnesota 17–12.[54] They finished with a 7-2 Pac-12 record and overall record of 8–5 for 2016.[55] Huge wins overOregon and No. 15Stanford contributed to the Cougars' best finish in Pac-12 conference play since the 2003 team went 6–2.
After the suicide of projected starting quarterbackTyler Hilinski in January2018,[56] graduate transferGardner Minshew fromEast 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. 24Iowa State in theAlamo Bowl, Washington State won eleven games for the first time in school history and finished the season 11–2.
After the 2019 season, Mike Leach departed Washington State to accept the head coaching job atMississippi State. Less than a week after Leach's departure, athletic director Pat Chun announced the hire ofHawaii head coachNick Rolovich.[57] 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.[58] Rolovich lost that lawsuit on all counts as the court determined that he did not have a reasonable basis to seek a religious exemption because there was no evidence in the record that he had religious concerns before he sought the exemption and ample evidence that his concerns were solely personal and political.
Following the firing of Nick Rolovich, defensive coordinator and linebackers coachJake Dickert was named as acting head coach.[59] 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.[60] 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 theSun 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 theLA 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 lost ten members and is rebuilding. While they started out 4–0, the 2023–24 season ended up being 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 with an in-conference record of only 2–7. Due to both Washington State andOregon State being the only two schools left in the Pac-12 for the2024 season, both schools have agreed upon a football scheduling alliance with theMountain West Conference (MWC).[61] During his time at Washington State, Dickert was able to get the Cougars to reach three bowl games within a span of four years. Jake Dickert was hired byWake Forest to take over that school's football program in December 2024 just days prior to the Cougars playing in the2024 Holiday Bowl.[62]
On December 28, 2024,Jimmy Rogers, formerly atSouth Dakota State University, became the 35th head coach at Washington State University, accepting a five-year contract at $1.57 million annually.[63]
Washington State has been a member of the following conferences.[64]: 74–78
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.[65]
The1915 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 the1916 Rose Bowl, where they defeatedBrown University, now anFCS team, 14–0. This was the second Rose Bowl game, after the original in1902, and the first in the now annual continuous series. The win is Washington State's only Rose Bowl orNew Year's Six Bowl win.[7]
There was no contemporary system for determining anational champion in the early years of college football. NCAA-designated major selectors have retroactively variously namedCornell,Minnesota,Oklahoma, andPittsburgh champions or co-champions for the1915 college football season.
Rose Bowl refereeWalter 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."[66] 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.[67] In 2014,Washington State Senate Resolution 8715 recognized the team as national champions on the season's 99th anniversary.[68] The senate resolution was adopted with WSU head football coachMike Leach in attendance.
| Year | Coach | Selector | Record | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | William "Lone Star" Dietz | Washington State Senate[68][a] | 7–0 | Rose Bowl | Brown | W 14–0 |
Dating back to their days in thePacific Coast Conference, Washington State won fourconference titles.[69]
| Season | Conference | Coach | Record | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1917 | Pacific Coast Conference | William Dietz | 3–0 | 6–0–1 |
| 1930 | Pacific Coast Conference | Babe Hollingbery | 6–1 | 9–1 |
| 1997 | Pacific-10 Conference | Mike Price | 7–1 | 10–2 |
| 2002 | Pacific-10 Conference | Mike Price | 7–1 | 10–3 |
| Season | Division | Coach | Opponent | CG result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018^ | Pac-12 North | Mike Leach | N/A – lost tiebreaker toWashington | |
Washington State has made 19 bowl appearances, with a record of 8–11 through the 2024 season.[70] The Cougars have played in fourRose Bowls(1 win, 3 losses), threeHoliday Bowls(1 win, 3 losses), theSun Bowl (2 wins),Alamo Bowl (2 wins),Aloha Bowl (1 win),Copper Bowl (1 win),New Mexico Bowl (1 loss), andLA Bowl (1 loss).[71] Prior to the1975 season, thePac-8 allowed only bowl team, to the Rose Bowl.
From2015 through2019, the Cougars made five consecutive bowl appearances for the first time in program history, all under head coachMike Leach.
| No. | Season | Coach | Bowl | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 19 | 2024 | Pete Kaligis (interim) | Holiday | Syracuse | L 35–52 |
[72]: 114
| Seasons | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1894 | William Goodyear | 1 | 1–1 | .500 |
| 1895 | Fred Waite | 1 | 2–0 | 1.000 |
| 1896 | David Brodie | 1 | 2–0–1 | 1.000 |
| 1897 | Robert Gailey | 1 | 2–0 | 1.000 |
| 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 | 5 | 21–12 | .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 | 3 | 17–2–1 | .875 |
| 1918 | Emory Alvord | 1 | 1–1 | .500 |
| 1919–1922 | Gus Welch | 4 | 16–10–1 | .611 |
| 1923–1925 | Albert Exendine | 3 | 6–13–4 | .348 |
| 1926–1942 | Babe Hollingbery | 15 | 93–53–14 | .625 |
| 1943–1944 | World War II – no teams | |||
| 1945–1949 | Phil Sarboe | 5 | 17–26–3 | .402 |
| 1950–1951 | Forest Evashevski | 2 | 11–6–2 | .632 |
| 1952–1955 | Al Kircher | 4 | 13–25–2 | .350 |
| 1956–1963 | Jim Sutherland | 8 | 37–39–4 | .488 |
| 1964–1967 | Bert Clark | 4 | 15–24–1 | .388 |
| 1968–1975 | Jim Sweeney | 8 | 26–59–1 | .308 |
| 1976 | Jackie Sherrill | 1 | 3–8 | .273 |
| 1977 | Warren Powers | 1 | 6–5 | .545 |
| 1978–1986 | Jim Walden | 9 | 44–52–4 | .460 |
| 1987–1988 | Dennis Erickson | 2 | 12–10–1 | .543 |
| 1989–2002 | Mike Price | 14 | 83–78 | .516 |
| 2003–2007 | Bill Doba | 5 | 30–29 | .508 |
| 2008–2011 | Paul Wulff | 4 | 9–40 | .184 |
| 2012–2019 | Mike Leach | 8 | 55–47 | .539 |
| 2020–2021 | Nick Rolovich | 2 | 5–6 | .455 |
| 2021–2024 | Jake Dickert | 4 | 23–20 | .535 |
| 2025−present | Jimmy Rogers | 1 | 5–6 | .455 |
Washington State has had a rivalry withWashington since first playing 125 years ago in 1900. The series is 76–34–6 (.681) in favor of Washington, with the Cougars taking the most recent game in 2024. The teams played for the "Governor's Trophy" from 1934 to 1961.[73] The game was renamed theApple Cup in 1962 because ofWashington's national reputation as a major producer ofapples. While the game was commonly played on the weekend afterThanksgiving,[74] now that the two teams are in different conferences, the game will be played during the early, non-conference portion of the college football season. The Apple Cup is currently slated to continue until 2028.[75]
The twoland-grant universities are less than eight miles (13 km) apart on the ruralPalouse in the Inland Northwest; theUniversity of Idaho campus inMoscow is nearly on the Idaho–Washington border, and Washington State's campus is directly west, on the east side of Pullman, linked byWashington State Route 270 and theBill Chipman Palouse Trail. The first game was played 131 years ago in November1894 and resulted in a win for Washington State. The series has been played intermittently since1978, 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-levelFCS play in2018 but the teams continue to schedule games. Washington State leads the series 73–14 against the Vandals.
The rivalry with Washington State started in 1895 when Cougars defeated the Beavers 41–35. It is one of the top 40most played rivalries in NCAA Division I FBS history. The two rivals have meet 109 times as of 2024 and will play each other twice with a home-and-home series in 2025. The rivalry between the two bordering state 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 57-49-3 and lost the most recent matchup with a score of 41–38 in 2024 on a last second field-goal. 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. The rivalry has not been officially named yet with some of the many suggestions being "The Land-Grant Rivalry", "The Cascade Cup" "The Columbia River Rivalry".[76]
Washington State won the 1917, 1951, 1958, 1972, 1973, and 1983 Northwest Championships by sweeping rivals Washington, Oregon State and Oregon.
Eight Cougars have finished in the Top 10 of theHeisman Trophy voting.[77]Ryan Leaf had the highest finish in the Heisman balloting in program history,[78] atthird in 1997.
| Season | Name | Position | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
There have been seven Washington State players named consensusAll-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.[79] Additionally, Washington State has had 39 first team All-America selections through the 2017 season.[72]: 120
| Player | Position | Seasons | Selections |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rueben Mayes | RB | 1982–1985 | 1984 |
| Mike Utley | G | 1985–1988 | 1988 |
| Jason Hanson | K | 1988–1991 | 1989^ |
| Rien Long | T | 2000–2002 | 2002 |
| Jerome Harrison | RB | 2004–2005 | 2005 |
| Cody O'Connell | OT | 2013–2017 | 2016^, 2017 |
| Hercules Mata'afa | DE | 2015–2017 | 2017 |
Five players and three coaches from the program have been inducted into theCollege Football Hall of Fame.[80][81][82][83]
| Player | Position | Seasons | Inducted | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mel Hein | C | 1929–1931 | 1954 | [80] |
| Turk Edwards | T | 1929–1931 | 1975 | [80] |
| Babe Hollingbery | Coach | 1926–1942 | 1979 | [80] |
| Rueben Mayes | RB | 1982–1985 | 2008 | [80] |
| William Dietz | Coach | 1915–1917 | 2012 | [81] |
| Mike Utley | G | 1985–1988 | 2016 | [82] |
| Dennis Erickson | Coach | 1987–1988 | 2019 | [82] |
| Jason Hanson | K | 1988–1991 | 2020 | [83] |
Two Cougars have been inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame.[84]
| Player | Position | Seasons | NFL Team | NFL Years | Inducted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mel Hein | C | 1927–1931 | New York Giants | 1931–1945 | 1963 |
| Turk Edwards | T | 1929–1931 | Washington Redskins | 1932–1940 | 1969 |
Four Cougars have been inducted into theCanadian Football Hall of Fame.
| Player | Position | Seasons | CFL Team(s) | CFL Years | Inducted | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byron Bailey | RB | 1949–1951 | B.C. Lions | 1954–1964 | 1975 | [85] |
| George Reed | RB | 1959–1962 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 1963–1975 | 1979 | [85] |
| Brian Kelly | WR,coach | 1975–1977 | Edmonton Eskimos | 1979–1987 | 1991 | [85] |
| Hugh Campbell | WR, coach, executive | 1959–1962 | Edmonton Eskimos, Saskatchewan Roughriders | 1964–2006 | 2000 | [86] |
The Cougars have officiallyretired two numbers.
| Washington State Cougars retired numbers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Player | Pos. | Tenure | Ref. | |
| 7 | Mel Hein | C | 1927–1931 | [87] | |
| 14 | Jack Thompson | QB | 1974–1978 | [87] | |
Those numbers are not officially retired, but have not been reissued to any player either.[88]
| No. | Player | Position | Career | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Drew Bledsoe | QB | 1990–92 | [88] |
| 16 | Ryan Leaf | QB | 1994–97 | [88] |
| 91 | Leon Bender[n1 1] | DT | 1994–1997 | [88] |
TheEddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award is given annually to acollege footballcoach by theFootball 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.[91]
| Year | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Mike Price | 10–2 |
TheAFCA Coach of the Year Award is given annually to acollege footballcoach by theAmerican 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.[92]
| Year | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Mike Leach | 11–2 |
Five Washington State football head coaches have received the annual award a total of eight times as the conference's Coach of the Year.[93]
| Season | Coach | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Jim Walden | 8–3–1 |
| 1983 | Jim Walden | 7–4 |
| 1988^ | Dennis Erickson | 9–3 |
| 1997 | Mike Price | 10–2 |
| 2001 | Mike Price | 10–2 |
| 2003^ | Bill Doba | 10–3 |
| 2015^ | Mike Leach | 9–4 |
| 2018 | Mike Leach | 11–2 |
Announced schedules as of October 11, 2025.[94]On November 1, 2024, it was announced that the Cougars will be playing an independent football schedule next season which also includes a home and home series with fellowPac-12 Conference memberOregon State, due to theMountain West Conference not extending the scheduling agreement that was in place for the 2024 season.[95]
Walter Eckersall, the famous all-American quarterback, who refereed the game, said of W. S. C.: "It is the equal of Cornell. There is not a better football team in the country. I do not believe I ever saw a better one at any time."
As Washington State college meets Washington here Saturday in a game which Cougar supporters hope will be a step toward the Rose bowl, the members of the 1915 team which defeated Brown, 14 to 0, in the first Pasadena game will be guests of honor in the stands. The mythical national champions of 20 years ago will be feted throughout the homecoming weekend.
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