She seems to be very good at coach speech, i.e. little real content and lots of hope and analogies. I love her optimistic takes, however the only thing I care about as a fan, is results. Both OSU and WSU were put in really bad positions. OSU has had mass exodus across many sports. What is the long term plan?
I had no opinion on McCoy prior to this article, but this window makes me feel she shouldn't be the long term AD.
As she said, fans need to be heavily involved and excited, but that excitement starts from the top. Managerial speak excites no one other than those at the top and keeps people out of litigation.
We need someone who can excite the fanbase, while not alienating entities we may need to work with in the future. That is a tight wire act in itself. She looks to be heavy on not alienating entities, and weak on the excitement.... But in times like this I hear the whispers from Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come"
So the top priority should be exciting the fanbase, exceptional marketing, promoting OSU!/WSU and all the other cards will fall into place. McCoy doesn't sound to be that person.
It felt like a Seinfeld episode, “a series about nothing”, except Seinfeld was entertaining 😁. And I need to say, I think John is a great interviewer, and this is still all we got.
This interview was like a big bowl of plain white rice. It looks like a bounty but there's no flavor or nutritional content so at the end you're disappointed you're completely unsatisfied.
Interviews, good ones, are a give and take. You give them the space to get their message out, but take away some information for the readers. This interview was neither give nor take. It was a whole lot of nothing.
Well John-Henry, I appreciate your admittance about not having an opinion prior to the article….thats where you should have stopped. Anne has the coaches, athletes, students, and the athletic department excited and working hard to deal with the mess that Chun, UW, and Oregon caused. They all bail for the riches, yet leave behind a mess! Anne is cleaning it up and has done so with class, integrity, and perseverance….all qualities of a true Coug that Chun never had! We want Anne. WSU deserves Anne. The Pac2 need her as well! Go Cougs!
I believe the ultimate long-term plan is to have both Wazzu and Oregon State land in a "Power" conference. Rebuilding the Pac-12 or a reverse merger with the MWC seems to be merely a contingency plan. Both Wazzu and Oregon State have two years to exist as a two-school conference. We're just waiting for the some legal issues to settle and the dominoes to fall within the impending collapse of the ACC. The immediate plan right now is to expand both the Wazzu and Oregon State brands and find some football success and exposure until the next round of realignment. I'm both excited and nervously anxious at the same time.
That is a great answer and plan. I hope that is what the actual plan is! I’m nervously anxious, with a just a sprinkle maybe up to a dash of excitement.
I am concerned that finding an AD is taking so long. Wazzu needs a dynamic leader to keep the Cougs relevant. I have not seen any new marketing ideas or strategic changes to the athletic program. Change needs to be happening now, not just before football season. All I have seen is the same old stuff like Cougs need to keep supporting Cougs. Wazzu needs support beyond that. There just isn’t enough of us. What is being done to make this happen?
Good interview. I like Anne from this interview, though I have no dog in the fight so my opinion matters zero, or less. She is a straight shooter and those are apparently in short supply in college sports. Who else would want this job right now? Ms McCoy probably knows the PAC12 situation better than anyone other than Scott Barnes. I would guess she is odds-on favorite to be named the permanent AD. Why disrupt the relationships in place at this difficult time?
I like her as well, but the "....We need.........We need......we need..", to paraphrase what a famous coach/owner once said, "Just win baby" and the rest will follow.
I think she’s doing a good job in the interim, but she doesn’t seem to be aggressively out there trying to get us ((WSU & OSU) in a better place. It seems like she’s just trying to make us all feel good about (potentially) landing in or merging with MW.
For all the previous comments about corporate or coachspeak, its tough to put a positive spin on the situation WSU and OSU are in. Someone prove me wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can't put chocolate syrup on a dog turd and call it a Baby Ruth. Hoping for the implosion of a rival conference is not a plan, but then, that's how things will likely play out. Have a contingency. They exist but they also are not optimal. George Kliavkoff did not have one and now we see what happened.
If she wants people to buy in she needs to give them something to be optimistic about.
Saying "we’re in a great place for the short term over the next two years with our affiliate agreements and our scheduling arrangements between the WCC and the Mountain West" is not that.
If she really believes that's a great place for us to be then she's not the leader we need.
Being in a "great place for the short term", which she defines as two years, is not the same thing as saying it's a great place to be in permanently. I think she was very clear. What do you want her to say? Do you want her to make a silly proclamation that the Beavs and Cougs will be in the Big 10? Would that make her the leader you need?
It's not a great place. to be in. Whether short term or long term it's a bad place to be in. Our scheduling agreement with the MWC is for one year with a mutual option.
No I don't expect her to be silly. I expect her to have a plan and I suspect she does. She needs to share it if she wants buy in.
Of course it's not a great place to be in, Kevin, relative to every Pac-12 defector except perhaps Cal and Stanford. But it is a great place to be in considering the options that were available. I think the difference between your take and mine is the fact that I'm defining "good place" realistically and you are defining it idealistically.
Hard to do when no one knows what things are going to look like in a couple years. The Pac have set themselves with the flexibility to respond to future changes in whatever way best suits them.
Maybe an opportunity arises, maybe it doesn't, but what they did was a smarter move than immediately casting their lot with the Mountain West, which would have tied them down in ways they aren't now. That's not something you want to come out and say....don't want to throw shade at the MWC who have been helpful with the scheduling arrangement and may still be future partners.
Unfortunately we don't have the option of waiting a couple of years. The MWC will be starting to talk to networks about it's next TV agreement soon, if it hasn't already done so. Waiting for things to work out while other conferences and schools were taking aggressive action is what got us into this mess.
The Pac are in a different situation now than they were 3 years ago, when they should have pounced on the Big 12 and didn't. Patience is the better play now. While negotiations for TV deals might start years in advance, they can change in a heartbeat. FOX and the B1G altered their deal in a matter of days to take in OR/WA. Same for the Big 12 with CO/AZ/ASU/UT. The Pac finalized a brand new deal just 3 months before the start of the season. They have time.
I agree that deals can change quickly - but we need leaders who are making those changes, not waiting for them to happen. Do you really believe the Ducks and UW didn't have active discussions with the B1G and the netwworks long before that opportunity presented itself? They were involved in making that happen.
Of course, OR/WA privately had discussions with the Big Ten just months after UCLA/USC announced they were leaving. Both sides did their homework on the other. But what didn't happen is the ADs from UO/UW going on a radio show and announcing to the fans they were talking to the Big Ten to try and convince them to offer an invite down the road.
Rest assured that OSU/WSU have been touting their virtues every chance they get to the leadership of the power conferences, specifically the ACC and Big 12, so that if/when there's another big realignment shift those conferences will have them on speed dial.
One last thought....when Oregon St announced in April that they had scheduled future home-and-home series with Houston and Kansas State, the AD publicly said that there was intent behind scheduling games with Big 12 schools. What exactly he meant by that he didn't expand upon, but I think we can all guess what the thinking is in trying to build relationships with the Big 12 schools.
McCoy gave a fair and honest interview. The fact is, a lot of things need to happen to clear the way to whatever the best outcome is. McCoy may or may not be the right person to help achieve this. But she is absolutely right in that the fans need to buy tickets and show up even in this time of uncertainty. Cynicism and hurt feelings are for the past. Get over it and support the school of your choice. It’s the only power we possess to affect outcome positively. Wishing we were in a P5 conference at this point, given the current and future dumpster fires there, is not in the best interest of either school.
Conference realignment, tv deals, and landing in a power conference are all out of our control as fans. However, during this period, the best we can do to help support the our school's brand are to attend many games as possible and donate what you can to the the athletic department and NIL.
McCoy, "We need our fans for the Cougars and the Beavers to be out in force and make people understand that people care about these schools..."
I still contend OSU has the fan base that can rival Boise St, Fresno St...to name just two...which can be highly supportive and make Reser a tough place to play. Some of those Fresno fans in particular are nuts. Beavers fans can develop a similar rep. And, the WSU student section is notorious.
Recently watched a documentary titled The Saint of Second Chances. It’s the story of former White Sox owner Bill Veek’s son Mike and his eventual success as a promoter and owner of minor ( very minor, like independent) baseball teams.
I mention this with regard to the WSU interim AD’s statement about the “need” to sell tickets and “invest” in the Cougars. Maybe think outside the usual promotions and bring on Veek like extravaganza. Instead of the mascot riding a motorcycle have the Cougar on an elephant or guy’s juggling chainsaws at halftime in Corvallis. The sky’s the limit. Talk about “branding” and attracting interest!
I am not kidding and I have not been drinking - yet.
I don't go to the game to see a bunch of cute kids trying to be the first to run down and back putting on a jersey and a helmet. In fact get rid of all that puffery. Show decent replays on that jumbotron that cost a boat load of money. Attended the PAC 12 Baseball Championship two out of three years. The same guy, the same shtick from the ball park--now there is one thing I won't miss about the end of the PAC 12. I just want to watch the damn game and have the team be competitive.
I empathize with your “purist” position. However, both OSU and WSU need to grow their fan bases(audiences). Corporate sponsorship is just around the corner. Without meaning to be patronizing, at this point I don’t believe OSU and WSU are in a position to reject any ideas which may attract eyeballs or put butts in seats. Believing the status quo would keep the conference going was the ultimate blunder made by conference leadership.
Ticket sales or butts in the seat are NOT the major revenue source. Media and sponsorship rights are. Or they used to be for 2023. If ticket sales were the sole source, they would be giving out a free beer to folks based on the last two digits of their driver's license. Or in my case free beer every game for being a season ticket holder for 20+years. Instead of some cheaply constructed t shirt that is either 2 sizes too large or too small, they could have $20 gift certificates to the OSU bookstore for licensed gear only. That gear is at least twice that expensive so they could give out 5,000 of these every game and still come out ahead.
Certainly, gate receipts will not pay the freight. Merchandise give aways are also limited as revenue sources. Aggressive and inspired marketing will generate interest and may draw the casual fan to tune in to CW games to see what’s going on in Corvallis and Pullman. This is how brands are established; along the lines of wild uniforms and giant billboards in major cities. You may personally not like it and cringe to think such a promotional marketing strategy is imitating your rival in Eugene and thus as the adage infers admitting the most sincere form of flattery. At this point I hope “pride” will not “go before the fall,”for the Braves and Cougs.
Advertising showing a Beaver kicking the "stuffing" out of a Duck might be a good start.... or maybe a Beaver in his hard hat, opening his lunch bucket and crunching down on some baby ducks--like those goldfish crackers. The marketing department can see me about those free beers if they use my ideas. Seriously looking at the stadium map and seeing a whole lot of unsold seats. They need to approach the current ticket holders and figure out how to incentivize new seats for a new generation. So that when the game is televised it looks like we have a following. We moved seats in part because "Beaver" street is a farce. It's overrun with cheap seat folks.
Well, that’s the spirit. But I think still too parochial. Think bigger, and you are correct, the younger fans need to be enticed with new formats and rewards for buying in. Our season tickets at Autzen and MKA are generational. We were in Palm Springs this year so did not attend the spring game but our children and grandchildren were there and commented on how many young families were in attendance, compare 45,000 engaged fans with the few thousand the Braves drew. OSU has got to improve in that area or be resigned to second tier status. Take this for the constructive criticism it is intended to be. I want to see both OSU and WSU succeed.
A rebuild? Maybe the Southwest Conference still can as well. After almost 30 years. I just think the time has come to change strategies entirely. You can’t keep looking to the past, to move forward.
In more recent years when a conference loses schools they rebuild by poaching schools from lesser leagues. Hello MWC schools and thank you departing Pac12 schools for the millions.
Right. Look no further than the Big 12. When the football season kicks off 6 of their 16 members will be schools that were G5 at the start of the previous decade.
Nicely done again John. It's a terribly difficult time for WSU and OSU ADs. Their ability to control anything beyond what they've already done is limited and there's a virual unlimited number of possiblities , not all of which may be viable options, on the horizon.
Assuming there is available seating for OSU and WSU home games, perhaps a 'go-fund-me' type plan to provide seating for the under-priviledged in each area might add some support. I'll make the first $100 donation.
Very interesting interview, simply stated, all options are on the table for these two amazing schools! A lot is going to happen over the next two years, and both schools are in position to take advantage of the opportunities.
Ms McCoy appears to have her thoughts and opinions going in the right direction. At this point of time what she says is very reassuring. ‘Tis a helluva task to have thrown on the PAC-2s table, but I feel confident that they will pull this off admirably.
Relative to field logos....not sure WSU, OSU, and UW can pluck that peach. They already have Gesa Credit Union, Resers and Alaska Airlines logos on the field locations allowed/designated by the NCAA. Those entities would have to release the obligation by the 3 schools to no longer honor field naming rights? I read somewhere, fewer than 20 schools have such naming rights agreements?
The NCAA did also discuss uniform patches. Can't imagine a school like Penn State which is "proud" of their simple uni's changing so players coming out of the tunnel look like NASCAR drivers with a bunch of patches. But, it might develop into an opportunity for OSU/WSU.
My relationship with college athletics is becoming increasingly transactional, sort of like going out to dinner. I'll pay for tickets and enjoy the experience of going to the game, but I'm not going to get personally invested in the athletes by donating to NIL, just as I'll pay for dinner but not get personally invested in the waitstaff or donate money to improve or expand the restaurant.
I hear some things I like in that interview, but my idea of the time line is shorter. Given how far ahead commitments are made by networks and schools, we need to know what the next steps are by the end of the 24-25 school year. We'll need commitments for 2026 to be made close to July 1 2025. It's getting late early.
WSU needs to keep this Young Lady as she has been working with the former A D and knows what is going on. Bringing in an outside person with no knowledge of the situation is a serious mistake!!!
She seems to be very good at coach speech, i.e. little real content and lots of hope and analogies. I love her optimistic takes, however the only thing I care about as a fan, is results. Both OSU and WSU were put in really bad positions. OSU has had mass exodus across many sports. What is the long term plan?
I agree, I read a whole lot of nothing.
I had no opinion on McCoy prior to this article, but this window makes me feel she shouldn't be the long term AD.
As she said, fans need to be heavily involved and excited, but that excitement starts from the top. Managerial speak excites no one other than those at the top and keeps people out of litigation.
We need someone who can excite the fanbase, while not alienating entities we may need to work with in the future. That is a tight wire act in itself. She looks to be heavy on not alienating entities, and weak on the excitement.... But in times like this I hear the whispers from Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come"
So the top priority should be exciting the fanbase, exceptional marketing, promoting OSU!/WSU and all the other cards will fall into place. McCoy doesn't sound to be that person.
It felt like a Seinfeld episode, “a series about nothing”, except Seinfeld was entertaining 😁. And I need to say, I think John is a great interviewer, and this is still all we got.
Agreed with both of you.
This interview was like a big bowl of plain white rice. It looks like a bounty but there's no flavor or nutritional content so at the end you're disappointed you're completely unsatisfied.
Interviews, good ones, are a give and take. You give them the space to get their message out, but take away some information for the readers. This interview was neither give nor take. It was a whole lot of nothing.
Well John-Henry, I appreciate your admittance about not having an opinion prior to the article….thats where you should have stopped. Anne has the coaches, athletes, students, and the athletic department excited and working hard to deal with the mess that Chun, UW, and Oregon caused. They all bail for the riches, yet leave behind a mess! Anne is cleaning it up and has done so with class, integrity, and perseverance….all qualities of a true Coug that Chun never had! We want Anne. WSU deserves Anne. The Pac2 need her as well! Go Cougs!
I believe the ultimate long-term plan is to have both Wazzu and Oregon State land in a "Power" conference. Rebuilding the Pac-12 or a reverse merger with the MWC seems to be merely a contingency plan. Both Wazzu and Oregon State have two years to exist as a two-school conference. We're just waiting for the some legal issues to settle and the dominoes to fall within the impending collapse of the ACC. The immediate plan right now is to expand both the Wazzu and Oregon State brands and find some football success and exposure until the next round of realignment. I'm both excited and nervously anxious at the same time.
That is a great answer and plan. I hope that is what the actual plan is! I’m nervously anxious, with a just a sprinkle maybe up to a dash of excitement.
I love that you cover the Cougs. Thank you.
I am concerned that finding an AD is taking so long. Wazzu needs a dynamic leader to keep the Cougs relevant. I have not seen any new marketing ideas or strategic changes to the athletic program. Change needs to be happening now, not just before football season. All I have seen is the same old stuff like Cougs need to keep supporting Cougs. Wazzu needs support beyond that. There just isn’t enough of us. What is being done to make this happen?
Go Cougs!
Good interview. I like Anne from this interview, though I have no dog in the fight so my opinion matters zero, or less. She is a straight shooter and those are apparently in short supply in college sports. Who else would want this job right now? Ms McCoy probably knows the PAC12 situation better than anyone other than Scott Barnes. I would guess she is odds-on favorite to be named the permanent AD. Why disrupt the relationships in place at this difficult time?
I like her as well, but the "....We need.........We need......we need..", to paraphrase what a famous coach/owner once said, "Just win baby" and the rest will follow.
I think she’s doing a good job in the interim, but she doesn’t seem to be aggressively out there trying to get us ((WSU & OSU) in a better place. It seems like she’s just trying to make us all feel good about (potentially) landing in or merging with MW.
For all the previous comments about corporate or coachspeak, its tough to put a positive spin on the situation WSU and OSU are in. Someone prove me wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can't put chocolate syrup on a dog turd and call it a Baby Ruth. Hoping for the implosion of a rival conference is not a plan, but then, that's how things will likely play out. Have a contingency. They exist but they also are not optimal. George Kliavkoff did not have one and now we see what happened.
If she wants people to buy in she needs to give them something to be optimistic about.
Saying "we’re in a great place for the short term over the next two years with our affiliate agreements and our scheduling arrangements between the WCC and the Mountain West" is not that.
If she really believes that's a great place for us to be then she's not the leader we need.
Being in a "great place for the short term", which she defines as two years, is not the same thing as saying it's a great place to be in permanently. I think she was very clear. What do you want her to say? Do you want her to make a silly proclamation that the Beavs and Cougs will be in the Big 10? Would that make her the leader you need?
It's not a great place. to be in. Whether short term or long term it's a bad place to be in. Our scheduling agreement with the MWC is for one year with a mutual option.
No I don't expect her to be silly. I expect her to have a plan and I suspect she does. She needs to share it if she wants buy in.
Of course it's not a great place to be in, Kevin, relative to every Pac-12 defector except perhaps Cal and Stanford. But it is a great place to be in considering the options that were available. I think the difference between your take and mine is the fact that I'm defining "good place" realistically and you are defining it idealistically.
Yes. It probably is the best we could get.
That’s the definition of what we don’t need, SCB.
Hard to do when no one knows what things are going to look like in a couple years. The Pac have set themselves with the flexibility to respond to future changes in whatever way best suits them.
Maybe an opportunity arises, maybe it doesn't, but what they did was a smarter move than immediately casting their lot with the Mountain West, which would have tied them down in ways they aren't now. That's not something you want to come out and say....don't want to throw shade at the MWC who have been helpful with the scheduling arrangement and may still be future partners.
Unfortunately we don't have the option of waiting a couple of years. The MWC will be starting to talk to networks about it's next TV agreement soon, if it hasn't already done so. Waiting for things to work out while other conferences and schools were taking aggressive action is what got us into this mess.
So you think we should just join MW? That is the last option
The Pac are in a different situation now than they were 3 years ago, when they should have pounced on the Big 12 and didn't. Patience is the better play now. While negotiations for TV deals might start years in advance, they can change in a heartbeat. FOX and the B1G altered their deal in a matter of days to take in OR/WA. Same for the Big 12 with CO/AZ/ASU/UT. The Pac finalized a brand new deal just 3 months before the start of the season. They have time.
I agree that deals can change quickly - but we need leaders who are making those changes, not waiting for them to happen. Do you really believe the Ducks and UW didn't have active discussions with the B1G and the netwworks long before that opportunity presented itself? They were involved in making that happen.
Of course, OR/WA privately had discussions with the Big Ten just months after UCLA/USC announced they were leaving. Both sides did their homework on the other. But what didn't happen is the ADs from UO/UW going on a radio show and announcing to the fans they were talking to the Big Ten to try and convince them to offer an invite down the road.
Rest assured that OSU/WSU have been touting their virtues every chance they get to the leadership of the power conferences, specifically the ACC and Big 12, so that if/when there's another big realignment shift those conferences will have them on speed dial.
One last thought....when Oregon St announced in April that they had scheduled future home-and-home series with Houston and Kansas State, the AD publicly said that there was intent behind scheduling games with Big 12 schools. What exactly he meant by that he didn't expand upon, but I think we can all guess what the thinking is in trying to build relationships with the Big 12 schools.
McCoy gave a fair and honest interview. The fact is, a lot of things need to happen to clear the way to whatever the best outcome is. McCoy may or may not be the right person to help achieve this. But she is absolutely right in that the fans need to buy tickets and show up even in this time of uncertainty. Cynicism and hurt feelings are for the past. Get over it and support the school of your choice. It’s the only power we possess to affect outcome positively. Wishing we were in a P5 conference at this point, given the current and future dumpster fires there, is not in the best interest of either school.
Conference realignment, tv deals, and landing in a power conference are all out of our control as fans. However, during this period, the best we can do to help support the our school's brand are to attend many games as possible and donate what you can to the the athletic department and NIL.
All true—including the NIL funds. Some of that $ has to come from us as grassroots supporters. Every $ counts.
McCoy, "We need our fans for the Cougars and the Beavers to be out in force and make people understand that people care about these schools..."
I still contend OSU has the fan base that can rival Boise St, Fresno St...to name just two...which can be highly supportive and make Reser a tough place to play. Some of those Fresno fans in particular are nuts. Beavers fans can develop a similar rep. And, the WSU student section is notorious.
John,
Recently watched a documentary titled The Saint of Second Chances. It’s the story of former White Sox owner Bill Veek’s son Mike and his eventual success as a promoter and owner of minor ( very minor, like independent) baseball teams.
I mention this with regard to the WSU interim AD’s statement about the “need” to sell tickets and “invest” in the Cougars. Maybe think outside the usual promotions and bring on Veek like extravaganza. Instead of the mascot riding a motorcycle have the Cougar on an elephant or guy’s juggling chainsaws at halftime in Corvallis. The sky’s the limit. Talk about “branding” and attracting interest!
I am not kidding and I have not been drinking - yet.
I don't go to the game to see a bunch of cute kids trying to be the first to run down and back putting on a jersey and a helmet. In fact get rid of all that puffery. Show decent replays on that jumbotron that cost a boat load of money. Attended the PAC 12 Baseball Championship two out of three years. The same guy, the same shtick from the ball park--now there is one thing I won't miss about the end of the PAC 12. I just want to watch the damn game and have the team be competitive.
tc,
I empathize with your “purist” position. However, both OSU and WSU need to grow their fan bases(audiences). Corporate sponsorship is just around the corner. Without meaning to be patronizing, at this point I don’t believe OSU and WSU are in a position to reject any ideas which may attract eyeballs or put butts in seats. Believing the status quo would keep the conference going was the ultimate blunder made by conference leadership.
Ticket sales or butts in the seat are NOT the major revenue source. Media and sponsorship rights are. Or they used to be for 2023. If ticket sales were the sole source, they would be giving out a free beer to folks based on the last two digits of their driver's license. Or in my case free beer every game for being a season ticket holder for 20+years. Instead of some cheaply constructed t shirt that is either 2 sizes too large or too small, they could have $20 gift certificates to the OSU bookstore for licensed gear only. That gear is at least twice that expensive so they could give out 5,000 of these every game and still come out ahead.
tc,
Certainly, gate receipts will not pay the freight. Merchandise give aways are also limited as revenue sources. Aggressive and inspired marketing will generate interest and may draw the casual fan to tune in to CW games to see what’s going on in Corvallis and Pullman. This is how brands are established; along the lines of wild uniforms and giant billboards in major cities. You may personally not like it and cringe to think such a promotional marketing strategy is imitating your rival in Eugene and thus as the adage infers admitting the most sincere form of flattery. At this point I hope “pride” will not “go before the fall,”for the Braves and Cougs.
Advertising showing a Beaver kicking the "stuffing" out of a Duck might be a good start.... or maybe a Beaver in his hard hat, opening his lunch bucket and crunching down on some baby ducks--like those goldfish crackers. The marketing department can see me about those free beers if they use my ideas. Seriously looking at the stadium map and seeing a whole lot of unsold seats. They need to approach the current ticket holders and figure out how to incentivize new seats for a new generation. So that when the game is televised it looks like we have a following. We moved seats in part because "Beaver" street is a farce. It's overrun with cheap seat folks.
tc,
Well, that’s the spirit. But I think still too parochial. Think bigger, and you are correct, the younger fans need to be enticed with new formats and rewards for buying in. Our season tickets at Autzen and MKA are generational. We were in Palm Springs this year so did not attend the spring game but our children and grandchildren were there and commented on how many young families were in attendance, compare 45,000 engaged fans with the few thousand the Braves drew. OSU has got to improve in that area or be resigned to second tier status. Take this for the constructive criticism it is intended to be. I want to see both OSU and WSU succeed.
Outside the box—perfect, P.H.!
A rebuild? Maybe the Southwest Conference still can as well. After almost 30 years. I just think the time has come to change strategies entirely. You can’t keep looking to the past, to move forward.
In more recent years when a conference loses schools they rebuild by poaching schools from lesser leagues. Hello MWC schools and thank you departing Pac12 schools for the millions.
Right. Look no further than the Big 12. When the football season kicks off 6 of their 16 members will be schools that were G5 at the start of the previous decade.
Nicely done again John. It's a terribly difficult time for WSU and OSU ADs. Their ability to control anything beyond what they've already done is limited and there's a virual unlimited number of possiblities , not all of which may be viable options, on the horizon.
Assuming there is available seating for OSU and WSU home games, perhaps a 'go-fund-me' type plan to provide seating for the under-priviledged in each area might add some support. I'll make the first $100 donation.
Very interesting interview, simply stated, all options are on the table for these two amazing schools! A lot is going to happen over the next two years, and both schools are in position to take advantage of the opportunities.
Good interview, John.
Ms McCoy appears to have her thoughts and opinions going in the right direction. At this point of time what she says is very reassuring. ‘Tis a helluva task to have thrown on the PAC-2s table, but I feel confident that they will pull this off admirably.
Relative to field logos....not sure WSU, OSU, and UW can pluck that peach. They already have Gesa Credit Union, Resers and Alaska Airlines logos on the field locations allowed/designated by the NCAA. Those entities would have to release the obligation by the 3 schools to no longer honor field naming rights? I read somewhere, fewer than 20 schools have such naming rights agreements?
The NCAA did also discuss uniform patches. Can't imagine a school like Penn State which is "proud" of their simple uni's changing so players coming out of the tunnel look like NASCAR drivers with a bunch of patches. But, it might develop into an opportunity for OSU/WSU.
My relationship with college athletics is becoming increasingly transactional, sort of like going out to dinner. I'll pay for tickets and enjoy the experience of going to the game, but I'm not going to get personally invested in the athletes by donating to NIL, just as I'll pay for dinner but not get personally invested in the waitstaff or donate money to improve or expand the restaurant.
I hear some things I like in that interview, but my idea of the time line is shorter. Given how far ahead commitments are made by networks and schools, we need to know what the next steps are by the end of the 24-25 school year. We'll need commitments for 2026 to be made close to July 1 2025. It's getting late early.
WSU needs to keep this Young Lady as she has been working with the former A D and knows what is going on. Bringing in an outside person with no knowledge of the situation is a serious mistake!!!
Get smart Mr President!!!