News for CougGroup 1/16/2018+ Pat Chun to be new WSU AD

Pat Chun to be introduced as WSU  AD tomorrow

DYLAN GREENE, Evergreen sports editor January 16, 2018
Florida Atlantic University athletic director Pat Chun will be named the new WSU AD on Wednesday, according to ESPN.
WSU Athletic Communications sent out an email earlier today stating that WSU President Kirk Schulz would be introducing the new Director of Athletics tomorrow during a press conference.
The Cougars AD position became vacant Oct. 15 when Bill Moos left Pullman to become the athletic director at the University of Nebraska. The Cornhuskers signed him to a five-year contract with a base annual salary of $1 million, plus incentives.
Senior Associate Director of Athletics John Johnson served as the interim AD during the search process.
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Athletic director Pat Chun leaves Florida Atlantic and will accept same position at Washington State
Deerfield Beach, Florida, SUN-SENTINEL
Pat Chun will only get to experience one year of the Lane Kiffin phenomenon at Florida Atlantic.
On Tuesday, it was confirmed Chun will vacate his post as athletic director to accept the same position at Washington State. The news was first reported by ESPN. Chun will be introduced at a news conference Wednesday morning. He replaces Bill Moos.
Chun had been at FAU since 2012, where he earned a reputation as a strong fundraiser. Among his biggest moves was landing a $16 million donation from the Schmidt Family Foundation that went toward the building a new athletics facility. It was the largest gift in school history.
In 2013, Chun also played a role in the school securing a 10-year corporate sponsorship agreement with Learfield Sports. Before leaving FAU, Chun was key in helping the school reel in coach Kiffin.
In just one season, Kiffin led the Owls to the best season in school history. The Owls finished 11-3, won their first Conference USA championship and captured a 50-3 victory against Akron in Boca Raton Bowl.
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From Florida Athletic University Owls athletics webiste
PATRICK CHUN, FAU Vice President and Director of Athletics
Patrick "Pat" G. Chun was named director of athletics July 2, 2012 and has overseen a transformation of the Florida Atlantic Department of Athletics that has yielded unprecedented successes. Since his arrival, Chun has been focused on building and stewarding a culture of excellence and enriching the overall experiences of the student-athlete. At FAU, Chun provides leadership for 19 varsity sports with over 450 student-athletes as well as 150 staff members. He was elevated to vice president by Florida Atlantic President Dr. John Kelly in June of 2014.
Chun’s tenure has proved to be transcending on many levels. Under his leadership, FAU athletics has risen to some of its greatest heights, winning multiple championships, individual and team, and numerous national and conference awards. The Owls have posted an overall winning record the last three years and have held a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) in back-to-back years for the first time in the program’s history. The Department of Athletics has set records in academic achievement, revenue generation and community outreach. Over the past three years, women’s volleyball, women’s soccer, beach volleyball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, baseball and softball have either won conference championships, been ranked highest in school history or have finished with winning seasons. The men’s and women’s diving, women’s track and field and cross country programs have produced conference champions and all-conference honorees. Last year, men’s basketball had its most wins in Conference USA. 2017-18 will showcase new coaches in football, women’s basketball, men’s soccer and men’s golf.
The top priority upon Chun’s arrival was a focus on academics and the total development of student-athletes. The turnaround has been remarkable. Prior to his arrival, FAU’s departmental GPA was 2.66, 45% of the student-athletes recorded a GPA of 3.0 or higher, the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) was 66% and the overall Academic Progress Rate (APR) was 942 with two teams on warning for potential sanctions. Since that time, the FAU Student-Athletes, coaches and staff have accomplished the following:
• The Fall of 2015 marked the first time in school history the departmental GPA reached and eclipsed 3.0
• GPA has remained above a 3.0 for four-consecutive semesters
• School record 62% of student-athletes were over a 3.0 GPA in Spring 2017
• School record 79% GSR in 2016-17
• School record 979 overall APR in 2016-17 with eight teams with perfect scores
In 2016, National Association of Academic Advisors (N4A) Model Practices Award was awarded to FAU for displaying best practices in their programming for student-athletes. FAU was honored for its work with the football program. Along with the academic improvement, the FAU athletics department has developed a comprehensive life skills program, featuring career services and a speakers program, as well as a concerted effort to provide community service to the South Florida area. The department of athletics has implemented multiple initiatives throughout Chun’s tenure:
• FAU Department of Athletics Leadership Academy
• Student-Athlete only career fairs, resume writing and interviewing workshops
• Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) training
• 2016-17 has featured over 30 Life Skills programs including Anti-Hazing and Bullying Summit, Drug and Alcohol Awareness, One Love Escalation and Suicide Prevention Training
• Over 15,000 community service hours performed by student-athletes in the past four years
Chun has earned a reputation as an outstanding fundraiser with record successes at two institutions. At FAU, December 2, 2015, the university announced the largest single gift in its history, $16 million from the Schmidt Family Foundation, which would be directed to the design and construction of a new athletics facility to be named the Schmidt Family Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence. Construction will begin in the Fall of 2017. The project also includes a $5 million commitment from Christine E. Lynn for the Christine E. Lynn Sports Medicine Center and another $5 million commitment from Bobby and Barbara Campbell for the Bobby and Barbara Campbell Academic Success Center. Fall of 2016 saw the opening of the FAU Tennis Complex. The $800,000 project was funded primarily through private philanthropy. Chun has also overseen the addition of sand volleyball courts for the beach volleyball program and Fall of 2017 will open with renovations and enhancements at the FAU Varsity Soccer Field.
Revenue generation has been at the forefront of initiatives for Chun. In August of 2013, FAU agreed to a 10-year agreement with Learfield Sports as its exclusive corporate sponsorship sales unit. The partnership is expected to generate $25 million in revenues over the life of the agreement. In 2015 FAU extended its agreement with Adidas for $1.2 million.
In terms of ticket sales, 2017 has already seen a record renewal rate for football season tickets. 2015 saw a record for football season tickets and student attendance as well as the first-ever stadium sellout. Student attendance increased for three-consecutive years for all ticketed varsity sports beginning in 2013-14.
In 2016, FAU was the Gold Medal recipient of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) in video segment category for its “Thank You Owl Nation” video. The Gold Medal is given to the top video among all 128 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institutions.
On a national level, Chun currently serves on the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee. He also was named to the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) executive committee in 2016. Chun completed a three-year term on the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee from 2013-16. He also serves as a mentor in the NCAA Pathways program. In the past, Chun has served on the executive committee for the National Association for Athletics Development Directors (NAADD) and was a longtime board member for the Columbus, Ohio chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. In 2011, Chun was selected for the inaugural class of the Division 1A Athletics Directors Association Fellowship Program.
On a conference level, Chun currently serves as the chair of the budget committee for Conference USA. He also serves on the basketball championship committee and served on the commissioner search committee in 2015. In November of 2012, Chun engineered FAU's move into Conference USA. The Owl's made their historic move into the new conference on July 1, 2013.
A monumental step towards building a culture of excellence and student-athlete success occurred with the launch of a strategic plan, the first strategic plan in the program’s history. This was done through the collective efforts of the entire department of athletics. The plan was introduced in 2013. The strategic plan also identified the core values of the department: excellence, innovation, teamwork and integrity.
Another major initiative was the creation of the Boca Raton Bowl. Chun played a leadership role in the creation of the game that has quickly become an annual tradition in the South Florida community. The inaugural game was played on December 23, 2014 at FAU Stadium. The bowl game is the result of a partnership between FAU, ESPN, the City of Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, the Orange Bowl, Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference and the American Athletic Conference. In just three years, over six million viewers have watched the game on ESPN.
Prior to Florida Atlantic, Chun spent 15 years at The Ohio State University working at his alma mater. During his tenure, he was promoted six times in the Department of Athletics, ultimately elevating to Executive Associate Athletics Director for External Relations. In his last role at Ohio State, Chun provided leadership and oversight for all facets of the external relations division from 2009-12. In the four years of overseeing the external relations division, Chun oversaw record fundraising years of $42 million in 2012, $41 million in 2011, and $39 million in 2010. Chun also was a lead member of the athletics department senior team that authored the then-largest multimedia rights deal in intercollegiate athletics history: a 10-year, $128 million partnership with IMG College in 2009. Chun also served as the daily administrative liaison with the football program.
Chun is active in the South Florida community. He is a member of the YMCA of South Palm Beach County Board of Trustees, serves on the executive committee for the Boca Raton Bowl and is a committee member for the Orange Bowl.
A native of Strongsville, Ohio, Chun is a graduate of Holy Name High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University and a master's degree from Duquesne University. He and his wife, Natalie, also an OSU alumna, have three daughters (Vanna, Kennedy and Gretta) who enjoy their dog (Little Brother).

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MEN'S BASKETBALL
Washington State guard KJ Langston suspended indefinitely for violation of rules
UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 16, 2018, 4:30 p.m.
By Theo Lawson Spokane S-R
PULLMAN – Washington State will be one body short when it heads into the mountains for a tough road swing against Colorado and Utah.

KJ Langston, a seldom-used redshirt junior guard, has been suspended from the basketball team for a violation of team rules, according to a school press release Tuesday afternoon.

The rule or rules Langston violated weren’t specified, but the suspension means the second-year player won’t be traveling with the Cougars this week as they head to Boulder, Colorado, for Thursday’s game against the Buffaloes, or Salt Lake City for Sunday’s game against the Utes.

Langston has only played in one Pac-12 game this season, logging three minutes in a road contest against USC. He’s appeared in eight games altogether and has scored four points – two apiece against Texas Southern and Seattle U. Langston is averaging 3.5 minutes per game.

As a redshirt sophomore, the Chabot (California) College transfer averaged 7.5 minutes per game, appeared 21 times and scored 1.5 points per game.
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