Local farmers market returns to Pullman: Handful of vendors are alumni of WSU, hoping to give back
Pullman Farmers Market offers community opportunity access to fresh, locally grown produce and meets. The market opens this Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
By CHLOE GRUNDMEIER May 10, 2018
Fresh produce and locally sourced meats are becoming more and more popular. The easiest way to access this local produce and meats is through a farmers market.
Amada Argona, Pullman Farmers Market manager, has worked with both the Moscow and Pullman markets and said she loves getting to know the local communities and vendors to understand their needs.
Over the past 10 years, Whitman County’s own farmers market has grown and prospered, but still remains small and personal in a way that promotes “steadfast and loyal relationships,” Argona said.
Argona believes every community should have access to the fresh food a farmers market provides.
“Every community should have a farmer’s market available to them,” Argona said. “Pullman is such a good location for one, the school has the agriculture program and the area is just surrounded by so much farm land.”
In less populated areas, farmers markets also “give smaller producers an outlet to share their artisanship with the community,” Argona said.
Argona said by purchasing from a farmers market, the consumer can know the profits will directly benefit these smaller producers and thus the community as a whole.
WSU has one of the best precision agriculture programs in the world, according to WSU Insider. This market allows the students involved with the agriculture programs in the area to form connections and relationships that can lead to internships and even jobs after college, Argona said.
The smaller nature of the market also allows for students to participate more directly if they wish. Argona said students with side jobs or hobbies have the opportunity to speak with market management and possibly sell their products to the community.
Many of the vendors at the farmers market are some who took up these opportunities while studying at WSU and now the Cougar alumni are returning to share their produce and products with the Pullman community.
The Pullman Farmers Market will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday starting next week in the Spot Shop parking lot. Admission is free and open to the public.
“So many people involved with this farmers market are tied to the community,” Argona said. “They have Cougar pride just as the current students do.”
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BASEBALL:
Cougars battle Trojans hoping to end winless streak
WSU has only won one game since sweep of Santa Clara at home
By RYAN BLAKE, Evergreen May 10, 2018
WSU baseball continues its seven game home stand against University of Southern California on Friday looking to end a four-game winless streak.
The Cougars (14-25-1) wrapped up a three-game series with No. 3 Oregon State University with a 7-7 tie on Sunday. It was the first tie for WSU since 1992 and its first conference tie since 1936.
Lightning forced the teams off the field at the start of the tenth inning. OSU won the first two games of the series by a combined score of 26-4.
Senior outfielder Blake Clanton said the team needs to put the weekend behind them and not dwell on the outcome.
“I think we just need to come together and get better as a team,” Clanton said.
WSU has struggled since sweeping Santa Clara University. The Cougars are 1-5-1 since April 22, including three blowout losses by eight or more runs. They have not won a series against a Pac-12 team since taking two of three from Arizona State University at the end of March.
USC (21-22) started the season 8-3, which included a six game winning streak. The Trojans defeated University of California, Berkley over the weekend, taking two out of three games in the series. They won just three of their previous 12 games prior to a victory over the Golden Bears on Friday.
Both teams have had similar struggles at times this year. USC has posted a team ERA of 5.25, which is ninth worst in the conference, while WSU has a team ERA of 5.38.
Both schools have stumbled at the plate as well. The Cougars are ninth in the Pac-12 with a .249 batting average compared to the Trojans tenth place .248 batting average.
WSU has benefited from the powerful combination of Clanton and junior infielder Justin Harrer in the middle of the order. Clanton leads the team with a .322 batting average and is 11th in the conference with a .562 slugging percentage while Harrer is sixth in the conference with ten home runs.
First pitch is set for 5 p.m. Friday at Bailey-Brayton Field. The second game of the series will be contested at 2 p.m. Saturday and the series finale will played at 1 p.m. Sunday.
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FOOTBALL Titans agree to terms with Arizona defender Dane Cruikshank, Coug QB Luke Falk
Thu., May 10, 2018, 3:39 p.m.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms with half their draft class in reaching deals with defensive back Dane Cruikshank and quarterback Luke Falk.
The Titans announced the deals Thursday.
Cruikshank was selected in the fifth round after being a two-year starter at Arizona, and he finished with 135 tackles, five interceptions and a forced fumble over 25 games.
Tennessee wrapped up its four-pick draft by taking Falk in the sixth round. He went from a walk-on at Washington State to setting a handful of Pac-12 passing records, finishing with 14,486 yards passing and 119 touchdowns. He started 40 games and threw for at least 300 yards in 30 games and posted seven comeback victories in the fourth quarter.
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From Vince Grippi Spokane S-R A GRIP ON SPORTS
Have you ever wondered how Tony Bennett won at Washington State? Ok, that’s sort of silly, as his record at Virginia has shown he’s a pretty good coach. But no matter how good a coach is, you don’t win anywhere without good players.
Which brings us to the NBA semifinals, or the conference championship series as they are known.
In the East, the Boston Celtics have surprised everyone by getting to there without Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward, both superstars out with injuries. One of the main contributors has been Aron Baynes, the big Australian who played his college ball at Washington State. For Bennett.
On the other side of the continent, Golden State is trying to win another NBA title. One of the Warriors’ key elements is, and has been, Klay Thompson, the sweet-shooting guard who played his college ball at Washington State. For Bennett.
Two under-recruited players who found their way to Pullman during one of the rare golden ages of Cougar hoops.
Funny thing, though. They played together for just one season, Baynes’ senior year, Thompson’s freshman one and Bennett’s last on the Palouse. That team, which also included long-time European mainstay Taylor Rochestie, didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, instead playing in the NIT, where it lost a first-round game at Saint Mary’s.
WSU: Instead of heading to Cambodia or some other exotic stop, let’s take a trip around the Pac-12. Starting with the fall football schedules. The Mercury-News’ Jon Wilner dives into their depths and surfaces with some opinions. … The new kickoff return rules don’t excite the conference coaches. …
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Analyzing the 2018 schedules: Herm Edwards’ rude welcome, UCLA’s nasty November and Washington’s brutal assignment
By JON WILNER, San Jose Merc News
PUBLISHED: May 9, 2018 at 8:12 am | UPDATED: May 9, 2018 at 5:08 pm
The Pac-12 solved the egregious scheduling issue that helped derail its playoff prospects last season. No team will play a Saturday road game followed by a Friday road game in 2018.
LogoBut the conference hasn’t eliminated all the instances of competitive disadvantages.
The Hotline took a deep dive into the 2018 schedules — they are ranked below, weakest to strongest — and found that the team with seemingly the best chance to reach the College Football Playoff has been dealt a dastardly assignment that doesn’t exist for playoff contenders in other conferences.
Why in the world is Washington playing two conference road games in a row, with the back end being a trip to Oregon with the Ducks coming off a bye.
In the Hotline’s humble opinion, that qualifies as a competitive disadvantage.
For UW fans, the situation might feel alarmingly familiar. One of UW’s two losses last season came in Tempe, with Arizona State off a bye.
In that case, at least, the Huskies had been at home the previous week. This time, they’re on the road: Washington visits UCLA on Oct. 6, then plays in Eugene on Oct. 13.
The Ducks will have been off for 13 days.
(It’s the same mid-October weekend as UW’s loss in Tempe, which might make Husky fans even more anxious.)
That isn’t the only instance of the back-to-back double whammy, either.
Oregon State faces the same brutal assignment late in the season, playing at Stanford on Nov. 10 and then in Seattle on the 17th, with the Huskies coming off a bye.
No offense to the Beavers, but the focus here is on UW because of its status as a potential playoff contender — and the potential for the conference to schedule itself out of the CFP for the second year in a row.
It’s not fair to either the Beavers or Huskies, not even close to fair. We know this because of 1) common sense and 2) it doesn’t happen anywhere else.
The Hotline reviewed the schedules for the top teams in the other Power Fives and found that none of them — not Alabama or Georgia or LSU, not Ohio State or Michigan or Wisconsin, not Oklahoma or Notre Dame, not Clemson or Florida State — has been assigned consecutive conference road games with the back end against a home team coming off 13 days rest.
There’s a reason the other Power Fives don’t put teams in that position.
Maybe the Pac-12 will get that issue resolved for 2019.
To the 2018 schedule rankings …
12. Arizona
Noncon lineup: vs. Brigham Young, at Houston, vs. Southern Utah
Conference misses: Washington and Stanford
Toughest stretch: Road back-to-backs against Utah (on a short week) and UCLA.
Soft spot: The November lineups features, two home games, one bye and one roadtrip (Pullman). If the Wildcats somehow have a hold on first place when the month begins, they’ll be tough to overtake.
Comment: No Washington, no Stanford, plus USC and Arizona State at home: Kevin Sumlin didn’t just inherit a good quarterback.
11. Oregon
Noncon lineup: vs. Bowling Green, vs. Portland State, vs. San Jose State
Conference misses: USC and Colorado
Toughest stretch: The mid-Oct. duel with the Huskies is followed by trips to Pullman (trap game with WSU off a bye) and Tucson (just damn difficult).
Soft spot: The first three weeks.
Comment: The soft non-conference schedule stems from Texas A&M backing out of a series with the Ducks. Combine the noncon cupcakes with the USC miss and a bye before Washington, and the schedule sets up nicely for a run at the division.
10. Washington State
Noncon lineup: at Wyoming, vs. San Jose State, vs. Eastern Washington
Conference misses: UCLA and Arizona State
Toughest stretch: A Friday night roadie against USC — payback — followed by a visit from Utah form a difficult finish to the first half.
Soft spot: The start, with those three highly-winnable noncons.
Comment: The Cougars got treated right in that they avoid back-to-back road games. With seven at home and the manageable noncon lineup, the schedule is ideal for a team in rebuild mode.
9. Colorado
Noncon lineup: vs. Colorado State (Denver), at Nebraska, vs. New Hampshire
Conference misses: Oregon and Stanford
Toughest stretch: The Buffs visit USC and Washington back-to-back in early October. The trojans will be coming off a bye, and the Huskies will be glad to be home.
Soft spot: Once CU returns from Lincoln in early Sept., it won’t leave town again for more than a month thanks to a bye and three consecutive home games
Comment: Interesting extremes for CU, which has arguably the toughest back-to-back assignment in the conference (USC and UW on the road) but also is one of the greatest beneficiaries of the conference rotation.
8. Cal
Noncon lineup: vs. North Carolina, at Brigham Young, vs. Idaho State
Conference misses: Arizona State and Utah
Toughest stretch: The mid-October turn brings a difficult four-game run with Washington, Washington State (road), USC (road) and Stanford.
Soft spot: The noncon lineup is anything but daunting and culminates with a Week Four bye.
Comment: The even-year division schedule is always home-friendly for the Bears, who welcome Washington, Oregon and Stanford to Berkeley.
7. Washington
Noncon lineup: vs. Auburn (Atlanta), vs. North Dakota, vs. Brigham Young
Conference misses: USC and Arizona
Toughest stretch: Week One seems fairly challenging, but we addressed the most difficult portion above.
Soft spot: The stretch run. After a visit from Stanford on Nov. 3, the Huskies finish with a bye, Oregon State and the Apple Cup against their favorite punching bag.
Comment: Considered slotting UW’s schedule in the top five due to Auburn and the Eugene assignment, but it’s otherwise manageable. The Huskies are missing two of the right teams to miss in the South.
6. USC
Noncon lineup: vs. UNLV, at Texas, vs. Notre Dame
Conference misses: Washington and Oregon
Toughest stretch: The September lineup is rugged with trips to Stanford and Texas (back-to-back) and then to Arizona.
Soft spot: November is just mildly challenging with Oregon State, Cal and UCLA.
Comment: Missing the Huskies and Ducks is a huge advantage for the Trojans in the division race. That said, no other team faces two Power Five non-conference opponents, and both the Irish and Longhorns are loaded with returning starters.
5. Stanford
Noncon lineup: vs. San Diego State, vs. UC Davis, at Notre Dame
Conference misses: Arizona and Colorado
Toughest stretch: The daunting September lineup features SDSU and USC at home — the Aztecs have won 22 games the past two seasons — and Notre Dame and Oregon on the road.
Soft spot: Blink and you’ll miss it: The Cardinal gets WSU at home with extra time to prepare.
Comment: The even-year schedule is always demanding with trips to Seattle, Eugene, Berkeley, Pasadena and South Bend. Only twice in seven years under David Shaw has the Cardinal been worse than 7-2 in conference play, and both instances came in even years (’14 and ’16).
4. Utah
Noncon lineup: vs. Weber State, at Northern Illinois, vs. Brigham Young
Conference misses: Oregon State and Cal
Toughest stretch: October begins and ends with back-to-back roadies, features two Friday nighters and includes Stanford and USC.
Soft spot: Weber State. (That’s it, folks.)
Comment: As was the case in ’17, the cross-division rotation works against the Utes. Because of the returning personnel, they’re understandably viewed as a sleeper pick for the division. That status becomes a tad more difficult to justify when the schedule gets added to the equation.
3. Oregon State
Noncon lineup: at Ohio State, vs. Southern Utah, at Nevada
Conference misses: UCLA and Utah
Toughest stretch: Three hours on Saturday, Sept. 1.
Soft spot: The Beavers host WSU and Cal in October, with a bye in between.
Comment: Brutal as the Week One assignment might be, the Beavers have a November that approaches ridiculous. In succession, they face USC, Stanford (road), Washington (road) and Oregon — quite possibly the four best teams in the conference. The combination of start and finish is the reason for OSU’s placement.
2. UCLA
Noncon lineup: vs. Cincinnati, at Oklahoma, vs. Fresno State
Conference misses: Washington State and Oregon State
Toughest stretch: November starts with trips to Eugene and Tempe and ends with USC and Stanford at home. Good luck with that.
Soft spot: The bye week.
Comment: The Bruins are missing the North teams they would prefer to play, have a trap game with Fresno State and get their bye a few weeks too early (9/22). When I consider the challenges within UCLA’s schedule, the trip to Norman isn’t even in the top three.
1. Arizona State
Noncon lineup: vs. UTSA, vs, Michigan State, at San Diego State
Conference misses: Cal and Washington State
Toughest stretch: September is brutal with back-to-back-to-backs against Michigan State, San Diego State (road) and Washington (road).
Soft spot: Starting in late September, the Devils face Oregon State (home), then Colorado (road), then have a bye.
Comment: I picked the September triple-whammy as the toughest stretch, but the final six weeks are unforgiving, too. In every regard, the schedule staring back at Herm Edwards is the antithesis of what awaits Kevin Sumlin.
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Pac-12 campus payouts soar, but how do they compare to growth rates in other Power Five conferences? Not so well
By JON WILNER
San Jose Merc News
PUBLISHED: May 7, 2018 at 7:03 am | UPDATED: May 7, 2018 at 7:04 am
* The following commentary appeared recently in the Hotline newsletter and has been republished (and updated) here for readers who missed the original …
I’ll admit to being surprised the Pac-12 issued a news release Thursday announcing its revenue figure for fiscal 2017.
It’s not something the conference has done in the past and was clearly designed to trumpet the record total ($509 million).
In fact, the second paragraph — all 95 words — highlights the increases in revenue and campus distributions over the past four financial reporting cycles.
My interest, as noted in this insta-reaction column, is less in the total revenue than the campus payouts. The mission of the conference, after all, is to serve the schools. They are the conference.
Since the Pac-12 issued a look-at-our numbers release, which is certainly within its right, that’s exactly what I did:
The crack Hotline research staff compared the Pac-12’s percentage increase in campus distributions to those of the other Power Five conferences.
Sure, the numbers matter on an absolute level, but they also matter on a relative scale:
If the Pac-12’s annual growth rate in campus distributions is 10 percent and the Big Ten and SEC are only increasing their payouts by two percent, that’s an advantage for the Pac-12, right?
Context matters.
Here we go …
The Pac-12 said it has increased the cash sent to its schools by 63 percent over a five-year window.
(In raw dollars, the bookends are the $228 million distributed in FY13 and the $371 million distributed in FY17.)
How does that 63 percent increase compare?
Over the same span, the Big 12 has increased its campus payouts by 69 percent.
The Big Ten has increased its payouts by 79 percent.
The SEC has increased its payouts by, um, 99 percent.
What should we make of that?
Don’t dismiss the nuance: Each conference has its own culture and challenges, its own financial structure and reporting processes.
But it sure appears that the Pac-12 has not performed as well as its peers when it comes to the rate of increase of the dollars sent to the schools.
(I’ll plead ignorant on the ACC, which has a more complicated distribution process and has lagged the other conferences in revenue.)
The Pac-12 has been in a structural status quo during the entirety of the 2013-17 timeframe: Same Tier I deal with ESPN and Fox; same business model for the Pac-12Networks; same conference membership.
Meanwhile, the Big Ten and SEC have undergone some changes that served to boost revenue.
Let’s outline the state of each conference:
*** The Big Ten added Maryland and Rutgers, which caused a revision — but not an overhaul — of its Tier I deals.
That overhaul came at a later date and will be evident when the conference reports financial data for FY18: It’s expected to send $50 million to each campus.
In growth-rate terms, $50 million per campus will constitute a 140 percent increase over the timeframe used by the Pac-12.
*** The SEC hasn’t expanded in the past few years, but it did launch the SEC Network with an entirely different business model than the Pac-12 used.
Comcast vs. Big Ten Network and what it means for the Pac-12 (not much, at least in the short term)
Pac-12 Networks: Media industry report shows steep drop in subscriber fees (but don’t hit the panic button just yet)
Whereas the Pac-12 owns 100 percent of its network, the SEC owns zero percent.
Instead, it secured a revenue-sharing arrangement with ESPN that has produced a cash windfall for the campuses and is a key reason for the 99 percent increase in payouts cited above.
*** The Big 12, meanwhile, has been churning along, with no structural changes but a slightly higher percentage increase in campus dollars than the Pac-12.
(Not bad for a conference left for dead a few years ago.)
Interpret the numbers however you’d like and be mindful of nuance.
There’s no question the Pac-12 has made enormous strides financially, as it pointed out in the news release.
There’s also no question the other conferences have, too.
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Cougar FootballCougarsLocal NewsLocal PoliticsNation & WorldSports
WSU coach Mike Leach joins lawmakers on trip to Cambodia
Originally published May 9, 2018 at 11:37 am
Mike Leach and three Washington lawmakers are in the Cambodian capital this week, where they met with the prime minister and other government officials.
By Jim Camden
Spokane Spokesman-Review
Two state senators, a state representative and a football coach walk into a palace in Cambodia …
This isn’t the start of a new joke, but a description of reports out of the Southeast Asian nation that Cougar head football coach Mike Leach and three Washington lawmakers are in the Cambodian capital this week, where they met with the prime minister and other government officials.
Legislative staff members back in Olympia were working Tuesday to come up with details of the trip after Sens. Mike Baumgartner and Doug Ericksen, and Rep. Vincent Buys, along with Leach, were shown in meetings with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
“We’re just waiting for them to get back to us,” said Kimberly Wirtz, communications director for the Senate Republican Caucus. Communications were difficult because of the 14-hour time difference between Washington and Phnom Penh, and because legislators might not be checking their email frequently.
It was unclear whether the lawmakers were paying for the trip themselves or traveling as guests of a private or government organization. The state is apparently not paying for the trip.
Bill Stevens of the WSU Athletic Department said Leach was traveling at his own expense and “it is not WSU football related.”
Finals and spring football are over, student athletes are gone and head coaches are not allowed to be out recruiting this month under NCAA rules, Stevens said.
“He’s someone who loves discovering new things. He loves to travel,” Stevens said of Leach. The coach is also a friend of Baumgartner, the Spokane Republican who is giving up his Senate seat this year to run for Spokane County treasurer.
Ericksen, of Ferndale, and Buys, of Lynden, also Republicans, are expected to seek re-election this year. Ericksen has made previous trips to Cambodia.
A website called Fresh News International, which carries the slogan “Breaking News on Your Hand”, reported the four met Monday with Hun Sen and 10 other dignitaries at Phnom Penh’s Peace Palace. That report says Ericksen, whom it identifies as a U.S. senator, noted Cambodia’s rapid economic growth, which he attributed to Hun Sen.
The other legislators and Leach aren’t mentioned.
The prime minister was reported as saying Ericksen and President Donald Trump “understood the reality of Cambodia.”
One of the realities of Cambodia, not mentioned by the website, is that Hun Sen has cracked down on independent news media in the country, closing some newspapers and radio stations through heavy taxation. The government has also “dissolved” an opposition party and jailed some of the party’s leaders ahead of elections in July.
Fresh News reported the legislators met Tuesday with agriculture officials about the prospects of increased trade between Cambodia and the United States. Based on the photos of the participants, Leach skipped that meeting.
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Seattle Times says, :The NBA released the list of players who accepted invitations to its May 16-20 draft combine in Chicago and the four-day scouting event will not include several Pac-12 draft hopefuls. Washington’s Noah Dickerson and Washington State’s Robert Franks were among the notable snubs from the annual talent evaluation extravaganza that will include nine players from the Pac-12.
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Mark Hilinski tells CougFan.com: ‘I don’t want anyone to forget Tyler’
ByBARRY BOLTON May 9, 11:30 AM
THE IDEA FOR HILINSKI’S HOPE came from the outpouring of emotion and love from Coug fans for Tyler Hilinski, dad Mark Hilinski told Cougfan.com this week in a touching interview about his son's legacy and the foundation he and his wife Kym created to bring attention to mental health among student-athletes.
“Hilinski’s Hope was really born to do two things,” said Mark. “One was to honor and remember Tyler. And the second was to destigmatize mental illness and bring to the forefront mental wellness … You don’t go from the happiest kid on the team to where he went. Tyler was very deep ... and cared not just what people thought about him, but what people were thinking and how they were doing.”
Mark said he and Kym “weren’t thinking very clearly that entire week after Tyler passed away on Jan. 16 but we kept running into people that knew Tyler and wanted to tell us how great a guy he was, and how they don’t understand it.”
The Hilinskis themselves are no closer to understanding Tyler's death than when it happened. Nobody in or around Tyler's life knew he was struggling, let alone contemplating hurting himself. Mark said he and Kym spent the days and weeks after Tyler's death asking one soul-crushing question: what did we miss?
But the science on suicide that has since become part of their lives has made it clear that family and friends sometimes don’t see any clues. As parents, Mark said, that’s hard to deal with. But they’re determined, for Tyler, to turn their grief into something positive. And that's how Hilinski's Hope began.
MARK SAID THEY never found Tyler’s phone, which they think might have held some answers.
“It wasn’t until someone told me what happened that it ever crossed my mind that he would hurt himself," said Mark. "Just like the people who barely knew him and the teammates, students and coaches who knew him really well, we don’t understand either. We never found his phone. We pieced it together as best we could. His browser history (was) nothing but how to beat Cover-2, how to solve some equation for math class.
"People ask me why I say he didn’t have a choice. I understand technically you have a choice to do or don’t do this, but it doesn’t feel like a Tyler choice to me. He must have been fighting something so difficult that he lost all reasoning and all hope -- for a kid that was nothing but that. It’s something we’ll never understand, I’m afraid.”
WSU HAS TOLD Mark that Tyler’s locker will remain unassigned this coming season in tribute to Tyler.
“We knew from a practical standpoint we wanted to create Hilinski’s Hope to be a vehicle to help, No. 1, WSU. We’re not today in a perfect position to offer up what the program should be. We don’t have the perfect picture yet."
One program they do envision supporting through Hilinski's Hope is called Step UP!, the NCAA's bystander intervention program.
“If you walk down the hall to the medical team limping, nobody will think twice but you walk down looking for ‘Hey I’m having weird thoughts and I can’t get them out of my head’ the data backs up that kids are afraid of the perception of asking for that kind of help," said Mark. "And if you’re not going to ask for help, the only shot you have is those closest seeing something and intervening. So Step UP! is one of the programs that we’d like to support.”
Washington State is listed among the partner schools using Step UP! materials. And Mark said he was thankful for the WSU staff's thoughtful treatment of Tyler and Hilinski's Hope. But as Mark also noted, WSU is not among the schools listed who have received training in the Step UP! program.
“We spend a lot of time tending to ACL recoveries, shoulder dislocations, and we have some of the greatest facilities and people in there. But, and this is not to poke at anybody, there is only one counselor for 460-plus student-athletes,” said Mark.
MARK IS A co-owner of a software company and Kym is a retired attorney. We asked where he and his wife find the energy, while dealing with their own grief, to take on the monumental task of creating a foundation dedicated to mental wellness. Mark said there are countless cards, letters and poster boards from 40-plus schools, as well as from outside the US, all around the house. They serve as encouragement. And his wife, he said, is a force of nature.
“It really goes back to Kym,” said Mark. “And Kym can’t really sit still, it just hurts too much ... she’s kinda the CEO of the Hilinski house and the energy is driven by Kym. Thank God we have somebody with that much brainpower and energy. And my family and her family ... have been an unbelievable help. I don’t know how else we could do this. But we’re doing it for Tyler and for our two boys (Kelly and Ryan).
“And we’re not doing great … When things get really bad I think you probably don’t see us around … But it’s hard to encapsulate four months of 20-hour days because I can’t tell you all about 200-400 letters I’ve read in just the last two weeks. But we get energy from that … and I’ve never seen so many (letters) from Cougar fans.”
MARK SAID THE person he talks to most at WSU is Mike Leach and that Leach has been “great to our family.” He also mentioned Jerry Pastore (associate AD for student-athlete development and wellbeing) was “fantastic” when the Hilinskis talked with him in Pullman and in California for the memorial.
When the Hilinskis had to clear out Tyler’s locker, which was stacked with cards, flowers and other fare, the WSU equipment staff was there to help and “they were nothing but giving and kind.” The Hilinskis and President Kirk Schulz and AD Patrick Chun had lunch together a month ago to discuss Hilinski's Hope.
“And you have to understand how much Tyler and the family loves Washington State,” said Mark.
TYLER’S GREATEST on-field moment at Washington State came in the Boise State game this past season. He led WSU to a 47-44 triple OT win in a comeback for the ages after trailing 31-10 in the fourth quarter. Kym and Mark alternated going to Tyler and Ryan’s games and Kym was in Pullman for the win over BSU. Mark and Ryan were watching it on TV and yelling so loud the neighbors came over to see if everything was alright.
“It’s hard to tell you today what it was like because everything is in the context of now, but Ryan and I were up on the couch, down on the couch, yelling and high-fiving ... a very nice lady came over to see (what was going on). I knew how hard Tyler had worked and that was all he wanted to do, to win of course but more than anything else, to make his teammates proud. An hour after the game he called; ‘Dad did you see that?!’
TYLER’S GREATEST off the field moment at WSU, hopefully, is still to come -- through Hilinski’s Hope.
“From the family standpoint, we just want to talk about him,” said Mark. “And we just want the school not to forget about him. And the fans and the friends he made up there not to forget about him. This kid would buy you lunch, he’d give you his shirt, he’d give you his shoes. That doesn’t make him a saint, and I’m not trying to paint him that way … But we’ve got to use that Coug Nation love and support to draw attention to it.
“I’m hopeful that WSU can find an appropriate way to remember Tyler. He was a great kid and this is a very real issue.”
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Setting the record straight on audits & revenue in WSU athletics
By GLENN OSTERHOUT May 4, 4:16 PM
Cougfan.com
AUDITS ARE A CRITICAL part of running a sound business and they are performed at Washington State on a regular basis. The recent football ticketing audit at WSU, like every audit in every company ever done, found places to tighten up. But let’s be very clear about what was discovered: not very much.
Just to make sure I wasn’t somehow missing anything on this, I called several friends who have spent many years working in large corporations and asked them to read about what was found in the audit. To a person, from a range of industries, the response was the same: this is what audits are for and what was found here is of minuscule significance.
But, I asked, could it suggest some broader issue with management? As one friend said, “that would be a stretch of Herculean proportion.”
Allow me to count the ways all the coverage of the audit is blown way out of proportion:
1. Home football game attendance totals didn’t match the turnstiles.
Give me a break. It’s common practice in college athletics to count every sold ticket in the attendance total whether the seat was actually used or not. And if you’re being honest, you’d count every pass used by an EMT, sheriff, and usher too.
Moreover, to suggest that budget and planning is based on announced attendance totals rather than sold tickets is preposterous. Keep in mind, these numbers are used for financial purposes so seats sold is the only factor they should be looking
2) Four tickets were devoted to donor development in 2016 — and the paperwork behind it can’t be found.
Who cares — it’s four (yes, 4) seats. I’ve been sitting in the club section since it opened and I know exactly who those four seats went to and I know for a fact that the result has been very large checks written to WSU athletics. Conclusion: Why in the world would you even cite this?
3) Athletic department staff were allowed to buy premium seats at a discounted price.
You know why athletic department staff members were allowed to buy premium seats at a discounted price? Because those seats were unsold. Cougar fans should be purchasing those seats at full price given the success of our football program so they don’t sit empty on game days. But they were empty. WSU killed two birds with one stone — rather than take the goose egg on those seats, they filled ‘em and generated some revenue out of them. I guarantee you that any school in America whose alums won’t fill the seats will have a program like this in place. Whether the program should have been opened up to staff for the entire university rather than just athletics is a debate for others to have, but once again the broader issue is that this is no big deal. Conclusion: non-issue.
4) IMG, the subcontractor in charge of marketing and branding in WSU athletics, received thousands of complimentary seats to games that weren’t written into the contract.
This is a $3.2 million alliance that has been in place for more than a decade. IMG staff work inside the athletic department, hand in glove. Yes, the accounting process here needs to be tightened up, but the fact of the matter is that IMG is using comp tickets to bring in more advertising partners for Washington State. IMG is so trusted and so integral to what WSU does in athletics that they have been leading negotiations on naming rights. Conclusion: clean up the paperwork and no big deal.
YOU KNOW WHAT PEOPLE REALLY OUGHT to be wringing their hands about right now? It's lack of revenue to WSU athletics. The audit shows that Cougar fans are not stepping up to support their team. WSU athletics got creative with filling seats because WE FANS DID NOT BUY THEM.
Please keep in mind we have deficits in athletics because the WSU administration basically made no investment in its football program for the better part of two decades. The Cougar Football Complex and the premium seating addition at Martin Stadium were long overdue and set the table for WSU to compete in the Pac-12 long term. These investments made in facilities -- as well as coaches, nutrition, academic support, counseling and more -- were absolutely necessary to get Washington State back in the game and those investments are paying off with three consecutive bowl games and the third-most conference wins the last three years. WSU is back in the hunt!
There are two ways in business you get yourself on the positive side of the financial ledger: control costs and maximize revenue.
WSU athletics has made substantial cuts to its operation in recent years, but the fact is that you can cut only so far before you cross the line from efficiency into harm. WSU athletics cannot “cut our way” out of the budget shortfalls. Spending is not the issue.
Increasing revenue, substantially, is where the answer sits.
Rest assured, President Kirk Schulz and athletic director Pat Chun are looking at all revenue streams, including naming rights, sponsorships, student fees, etc. Progress no doubt will be made on those fronts, but to be honest the largest upside in revenue lies with all of us as fans.
I have written at length about where WSU stands versus its peers in terms of season ticket sales and annual donations to the Cougar Athletic Fund. The bottom line is that the upside is huge. To refresh: based on fiscal year 2017, WSU had 7,500 donors to the CAF for total donations of $6.5 million and season ticket sales for all sports of $6.2 million. Both of those revenue numbers are last in the Pac-12. And the next-worst on the list, Oregon State, checks in WAY ABOVE WSU in both categories: at $10.2 million and $9.3 million, respectively.
It's important to note that WSU is not a small university, with current undergraduate enrollment at 24,470 -- seventh-most in the Pac-12. In addition, the average early earnings of graduates is seventh in the Pac-12 and increasing at the fastest pace in the conference. We also have a large alumni base, at more than 215,000.
To add further context to the revenue issue, consider that Kansas State’s athletic department revenue is $77.9 million and Oregon State’s is $72.7 million. WSU's athletic department revenue is $59 million before you add the $10 million in university support for a total of $69 million. We alums and fans need to make up that $10 million.
Given these numbers, one can conclude our donations to WSU athletics should be approximately seventh in the Pac-12, which would put annual CAF donations at approximately $15 million — or more than double where we currently stand. Add in the fact that we have a loyal and passionate alumni base living and working in one of the best economies in the country and these estimates are very realistic.
MAKE NO MISTAKE, THE TRAJECTORY of athletics fundraising at WSU is going in the right direction and Chun has already supercharged the effort with a lot more to come. That being said, it’s not growing fast enough. We have to get all WSU alumni and friends involved and tackle the revenue issue in athletics head on.
I am asking for a Crimson Call to Arms to address this revenue issue. And whether you can donate $100 or $1 million, we as alums and fans need to tackle this issue now!
NOTABLE:
If you are a current donor, thank you and please consider increasing your donation here. FYI The deadline to improve your CAF rank is June 30; the rank is critical for priority on season tickets, bowl games, post-season play in all sports and special invites to athletic events.
To join the CAF with an initial donation click here.
To order season tickets for any sport click here.
If you are considering a major gift to facilities, scholarships or sponsorships please contact someone from the WSU development team here.
As a final note, please ask your family and friends to join this call to arms today.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Glenn Osterhout is a wealth manager in Bellevue who graduated from WSU in 1982. He is chairman of CougsFirst!, and has donated large sums to WSU athletics to, among other things, name the recruiting suite in the Cougar Football Complex after Steve Gleason and the Gray W Lounge in the Complex after Jack Thompson. He is a periodic columnist for Cougfan.com.
