Colorado University Athletics
Washington State, Track & Field In Pac-12 Spotlight
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Washington State Location: Pullman, Wash. Colors: Crimson and Gray Chief Rival: Washington |
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| Photo Courtesy: Washington State Athletics | ||
NCAA Championships: Boxing, 1937; M Track/Field, 1977 12 Top Student-Athletes: Dominique Arnold, track/field; Drew Bledsoe, football; Bobo Brayton, baseball; Gail Cogdill, football; Gene Conley, baseball, basketball; Jack Elway, football; Mel Hein, football; Bernard Lagat, track/field; Gerry Lindgren, track/field; Pete Rademacher, boxing; Mark Rypien, football; Jack Thompson, football Other Famous Alumni: Business ? Paul Allen,
co-founder of Microsoft, owner Seattle Seahawks; Robert Stevenson,
head of Allis-Chalmers; Shining Moment: Over a sparkling three-season span in football (2001-03), the Cougars produced three 10-win seasons, finished in the top ten and won two of three bowl games. In the final two years under Coach Mike Price, WSU went 20-5, sharing the Pac-10 title in 2002 and winning the Sun Bowl (33-27 vs. Purdue) before losing the Rose Bowl (34-14 vs. Oklahoma). In their first season under PriceGÇÖs successor, Bill Doba, the Cougars finished 10-3 and defeated then-No. 5 Texas 28-20 in the Holiday Bowl. But the success was fleeting. DobaGÇÖs best season over the next four was a 6-6 mark in 2006. He was fired in 2007 and replaced by Paul Wulff, who is 5-32 in his first three seasons. Quotable: GÇ£Fans never fall asleep at our games, because they're afraid they might get hit by a pass.GÇ¥ ? Former WSU basketball coach George Raveling. Buffs vs. Cougars/By The Numbers: Football: CU leads 4-2; M Basketball: Tied 1-1; W Basketball: Tied 1-1; Volleyball: CU leads 1-0; Soccer: CU leads 1-0; Tennis: CU leads 2-0. Classic CU: Buffs Have A 'Field Day' In Spokane |
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Bet You DidnGÇÖt Know: In the late 1970s, early 1980s WSU was among the Pac-10GÇÖs top menGÇÖs basketball teams under former coach George Raveling. The Cougars were 167-136 in seven seasons under Raveling, with two NCAA Tournament appearances . . . Raveling, a Washington, D.C., native, was handed Dr. Martin Luther KingGÇÖs original typewritten GÇ£I Have A DreamGÇ¥ speech after King delivered it on Aug. 28, 1963 . . . Tony Bennett succeeded his father, Dick, as WSUGÇÖs hoops coach in 2005. The Cougars won 26 games in both the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons tying school records for wins before Bennett left for Virginia . . . WSU has rivalries with Washington, Idaho and both Pac-12 Oregon schools . . . The Washington State Warriors won the 1916 Rose Bowl, capping an unbeaten season (10-0) and outscoring their opponents 204-10 . . . WSUGÇÖs cougar mascot was adopted in 1919. The mascot is nicknamed GÇ£Butch T. CougarGÇ¥ ? honoring former football star Herbert GÇ£ButchGÇ¥ Meeker, who played in the late 1920s. The costumed mascotGÇÖs identity is revealed annually following the final sporting event of the school year . . . ESPNGÇÖs College GameDay has never originated from Pullman, Wash. But there has been a well-organized, if unofficial, effort to plant the WSU flag in view of the GameDay cameras for every broadcast ? an effort acknowledged by the GameDay crew . . . The CU football team defeated Washington State 20-12 in 2004 at SeattleGÇÖs Qwest Field. The Buffs were supposed to play in Pullman on Sept. 15, 2001, but the game was rescheduled because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that year . . . Bill McCartneyGÇÖs first win as CUGÇÖs head football coach came against the Cougars by a score of 12-0 on Sep. 18, 1982 in Spokane, Wash. |
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Colorado joins a strong conference in track and field, but there will be one element missing for the Pac-12 Conference; an indoor championship. The Pac-12 does not sponsor a championship, so CU will have a chance to join many members of the conference in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). Stanford won the menGÇÖs indoor title and Oregon won the womenGÇÖs championship. Arizona placed second in both. OregonGÇÖs women followed that up by winning the NCAA Indoor Championship and Arizona placed seventh. The Wildcats were the highest menGÇÖs finisher, placing seventh overall. The Pac-10 does sponsor an outdoor championship and the Ducks have swept those team titles for the last three years. On a national scale, Oregon's women's team was the 2011 NCAA Outdoor runner-up while Arizona was fifth and USC sixth. Stanford was the league's top men's team at the NCAA Outdoor finishing sixth while Arizona was seventh and Oregon tied for 10th. Colorado already travels to meets at Stanford and Oregon. USC will host the Buffaloes and the rest of the Pac-12 next May for the Outdoor championship. Classic CU: CU's Kara Wheeler Doubles Her Fun |
CU In The Pac-12...Track & Field Coach Mark WetmoreGÇÖs Take: GÇ£The Pac-12 is an excellent distance-running conference ? not better this year than the Big 12 but in nine out of 10 years better than the Big 12. That also happens to be at this point in time the strength of our team. We will not likely score as many points from the 800 meters to 10,000 meters at the outdoor Pac-12 as we have recently in the Big 12. But, the short sprints and some of the field events might be a little more penetrable than in the Big 12. So, a Joe Morris could bring home a handful of points for us in the sprints, whereas he didnGÇÖt in the Big 12. Some of our field event people might do better there (in the Pac-12), some of our throwers might do better there. And that brings up the difficulty of looking critically at how you recruit. Do we need to reassess our long-term investments to take advantage of a few softer events? We havenGÇÖt done that yet, but we have to think about considering it. Honestly, (OregonGÇÖs facilities are) an insurmountable disadvantage. Recruits go there, see what they have, see the architectural renderings of whatGÇÖs coming to replace their indoor facility . . . and they compare it with what they see on their visit here and itGÇÖs really not a hard decision ? if facilities are important to their decision. (Oregon has) the land, the money and the plan. Now they just need the time to build it. As far as money is concerned, they have an extremely deep-pocketed friend. But the University of Washington has an excellent indoor facility and is breaking ground on a new outdoor facility. If Arizona, UCLA, Arizona State . . . lack in facilities they make up for it in temperature. None of those schools need an indoor facility because itGÇÖs 70 degrees in February. They donGÇÖt need it. So thatGÇÖs a very big obstacle for us to overcome in recruiting and practice. But overall, I feel good about the move. We had good years in the Big 12, a collegial relationship with all the coaches there. There were teams in that conference that also had imposing financial advantages. I was not in a hurry to get out of the Big 12. But the Pac-12 will be, believe it or not, a little easier travel because there now there are no places within a bus ride. The cities are almost all flyable without a lot of connections and I know most of the coaches there, too. I have good working relationships with them. ItGÇÖs at least a wash, and itGÇÖs an exciting new challenge ? which we all need in our work.GÇ¥ Pac-12 Spotlight content provided by B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor and the Colorado Sports Information Office. |
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| Photo Courtesy: Alex Ryan, Arizona State | ||
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