Canzano: Washington State interim AD sounds off
Anne McCoy talks future of the Pac-12, TV deal, WSU, OSU, and more.
By John Canzano 6/7/2024
Washington State President Kirk Schulz told me this week that he will make his athletic director hire by the end of the summer.
Said Schulz: “We will have this done by the start of football season.”
Anne McCoy is serving as Washington State’s interim AD. She’s worked in Pullman since 2001 and is a candidate for the permanent job. McCoy sat down with me on Wednesday for a 1-on-1 interview on a variety of topics.
McCoy talked about the Pac-12 Conference’s short-term and long-term outlook. She spoke about what might go into rebuilding the conference, the football TV deal, and why she believes now is the time for fans at WSU and Oregon State to step up.
Said McCoy: “We need people to buy tickets and be at our games. We need people to tune in. We need people to invest. But we also just need people to talk positively about the possibilities in the future.”
Q: You’ve spent your career on campuses and love the connection with college athletes. How can you hang on to the piece of the business that you love while also knowing that the day-to-day in today’s world is going to be less about that connection with athletes?
A: That’s very true. A lot of it is outside of our control. So I’ll say that right up front, like all of the pieces that are changing, but also the places where our days need to be spent. But I think the important thing from my perspective and for myself in this interim role and then potentially going forward, in whatever my role is, to be honest, in college athletics, is to remember that focus and that priority.
I think to some degree, it will evolve, but to other degrees, we can still preserve what we think makes it special and what we want it to be. I think if we let it completely fall through the cracks, then it will. But I think if we continue to prioritize it and prioritize those human connections and the reasons all of us got into this business, while also continuing to grow and evolve, I think that’s an important balance that's possible if we prioritize it.
Q: What do you see on the horizon? What’s in the short term? What decisions are on your desk today? And what long-term strategic moves do you need to be thinking about right now?
A: For the immediate, I think the only thing before us is opportunity. And I think that if we don’t look at it that way, then we’re doing ourselves a disservice. We can't change what’s happened the past year through the Pac-12. But what we can change is how we look at it and whether we view it as an opportunity or just something that’s been done and now let the chips fall where they may.
I think if we really keep ourselves focused on looking under every stone, imagining every option, thinking about every path, but then also being open to those paths we may not have even considered or thought were possible.
I think everything’s changing. People ask ‘Do you think college athletics will change again?’ or ‘When will the next movement be?’ I mean, it could be by five o’clock today. Is it much the next week or in the next year or in the next five years? So much is in flux right now that we were really just on the front end of it. From that perspective, we have the opportunity then to think of it as the trailblazers of reimagining what college athletics should be and what our place is in it.
It’s not going to be just like it was, as we’ve discussed. But I think if we look at it that way, not only for the short term… but also really embracing that 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, and the role the Pac-12 will continue to play strategically, but also from a daily operational support basis. I think we’re in a really good place to buy ourselves some time and be patient. Because I don't think we know right now that we're looking at the full menu of what the options could be.
Q: I think you’re at more of an intersection than a fork in the road. You have to have one eye on the horizon and look at what’s going on with the ACC and the rest of college athletics. You also have to have some focus on, OK, if there's a rebuild here, what does that look like? Am I missing anything?
A: No, I think that you’re right. I think we have to keep our eyes on all of those things, and I like that, thought of it being more of an intersection (vs. a fork in the road) because I think that’s really, really true. And whether it’s one of those simple intersections that have four corners or if it’s a rotary or whatever it is. I think just understanding that you need to be observant, you need to be patient, but you also need to be ready. And I think what we do in the short term is as much about the long term, which is keeping the stability, keeping our brand out there, really allowing our coaches to focus on what they want to do, which is coach and recruit and win competitions whatever those are. If we can let our coaches do what they do best and we can keep our eye on the horizon and the intersection, I think you’re right on.
Q: Kirk Schultz, your president, wants to make the AD hire by football season. Have you interviewed formally? If so, how did it go?
A: I think it’s been probably an ongoing interview. President Schultz would be the best one to answer that, but I really feel like he’s doing whatever he needs to do behind the scenes to make sure that he puts the right person in this position at a really critical time. These are always important hires, but because of all of the landscape changes everywhere, I think it’s critical more than ever. Just with the right fit and the right person. And so I’ve appreciated that he’s wanted to take some time to really just evaluate what that looks like. We’ve certainly talked a bunch over the last 60 days or however long it’s been now. So I would describe it as much as an ongoing process. Quite honestly, that part I’ve appreciated because to really, truly interview for a job, if that’s where the focus is, then I can't do what I need to do for the department on a daily basis. I’ve appreciated him having my interview be more on the job, so to speak, versus a formal presentation process that would be tremendously time-consuming and take away from what my priority needs to be.
Q: Give me an idea, how closely are you working right now with Oregon State and Athletic Director Scott Barnes?
A: We work very closely together. I feel like the Pac-12, Oregon State and Washington State are on a speed-dial trio at this point. We talk a lot, we meet a lot, whether it be via Zoom or even in person. But we talk really very regularly. It’s not just those positions. Our CFOs are talking very closely, our campus CFOs talk, our legal counsel, and our faculty athletic reps. We are really intertwined right now and just making sure that there are no surprises and that we’re not always going to agree 100 percent on every topic, but philosophically, we have alignment. I think that's been important, and that can’t happen unless we’re talking regularly, for sure.
Q: The football TV deal was formalized with The CW and Fox. Most of the TV times were set. I think it’s a big help to your fan base and Oregon State's fan base. What are your expectations with viewership and exposure?
A: We couldn’t be more thrilled for the partnership with The CW Network and with Fox Sports to just really get the Cougar Games out there nationally. To talk about them being in 100 percent of homes. As we look at our strength as institutions for positioning wherever we need to be, whether it’s strengthening the Pac-12 for a rebuild or whether it is positioning the institutions for other conference potential invitations, we need our viewers to turn in. 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, and they tune in. I think that the exposure part of it and that partnership that came to fruition was just immeasurably valuable, especially with where we’re at right now.
Q: I understand exposure was the focus for those 13 home football games, but did Washington State and Oregon State get enough revenue in that deal?
A: Absolutely. I think so. I think with where we’re at right now. The Pac-12 Conference felt really good about where things were at with the market… I think it was a really good balance of revenue stream, but also the exposure piece.
Q: There were some games late in the year, a couple of games, where Oregon State and Washington State on The CW Network currently have a ‘TBD’ for kickoff time. My understanding is that whoever has the better record is likely going to get the earlier kickoff. Can you lend some insight on that front?
A: I would typically agree with you. I just don’t know if there are going to be other factors. It may be how we’re doing (as a football team). It may be any other story lines that are ramping up. Something may be going on with our particular opponent. But I think you’re right. I think the purpose of these 12-day picks or (TV) picks that aren’t set ahead of the season, as you know, is really to capitalize on that momentum.
Q: When it comes to a potential Pac-12 rebuild, what are your thoughts about a potential reverse merger, or what thinking goes into potentially adding schools to the mix if it comes to that?
A: I think ultimately, even when the Pac-10 went to the Pac-12 or the Pac-8 back in the day, went to the Pac-10, etc. I think you’re always looking at schools that you feel like you align with, whether it be academically or athletically or regionally.
I think there are also tides that are changing relative to what’s important and what you need to look at. But I think more than anything, whether it’s a rebuild of the Pac-12, whether it’s a merger, reverse merger, whether it’s a different conference, whether it’s something that’s a concept or an organization that doesn’t currently exist as we know it today, the one message I’ve really tried to have is, as cliché as it sounds, we cannot have people just stay on the sidelines.
This is the time more than ever that Washington State needs the Cougs, Oregon State needs the Beavs. We need people to buy tickets and be at our games. We need people to tune in. We need people to invest. But we also just need people to talk positively about the possibilities in the future. I think it’s just been... it would be so easy to continue to be frustrated and to feel discouraged or there's uncertainty, and I'm going to wait and see. My challenge has always been, ‘Wait and see’ for what?!? Do you know what I mean?
At this point, this is when we need people and just be in this together and find the best possible spot, because why you love your two institutions, or in our case, why you love Washington State, shouldn’t have changed. We are still here. We’re still giving a world-class experience to our student-athletes. We’re still competing for championships. I understand there are some changes in opponents, potentially short-term, but you can still see us. You can still come. You can still be part of being a Coug. That’s, to me, the biggest thing that people — it’s time. It’s time to turn the chapter and to be and excited for where our future will lie.
Q: Some news this week with the NCAA passing some legislation that will permit schools to display corporate logos on their fields. Are schools simply looking for some untapped revenue?
A: We have not had a chance to talk about that a ton yet here, as you mentioned, with it being fairly hot off the presses. But I think absolutely that schools are looking for any possible opportunities or ways to just maximize their revenue streams because the expense line items just continue to grow and be added. Finding new creative ways to be able to do that is going to be important.
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