Dave Boling: Future WSU options aren’t glamorous, but a little Cougar pride can minimize today’s reality
This stage of evolution can get ugly, of course, but the key is adaptation.
As we witness the carnivorous mechanics of Collegiate Darwinism at work, we must first face the reality that the essence of sports is not at all what many of us thought it was.
You know, those long-held rivalries that get your blood boiling in anticipation, or that potent cocktail of tradition and nostalgia and loyalty at the heart of so many cherished sports memories.
The reality: Media money made college sports massive and it feeds the big and the strong first. The Big Dogs eat their fill, and others are left to get by the best they can.
The demise of the Pacific-12 Conference, er, Pac-(TBD) Conference can be blamed on administrative myopia, ineffectual leadership, and the shifting demands of content suppliers. In the end, it’s about survival. Survival of the fattest.
With Washington and Oregon joining USC and UCLA in the flight to the Big Ten, Washington State now faces unappealing options.
Who could help us make sense of these tectonic shifts? Someone who goes way back, but still sees the world through crimson and gray lenses.
“College football has turned into a money grab,” former WSU football coach Jim Walden (1978-86) said. “It’s kind of depressing that there’s no loyalty, no appreciation for fighting together; you’d like to see them do the things they ask of their players, sticking together and believing in themselves. That’s all gone.”
Where does that leave fans?
“I don’t want Cougar Nation feeling any less of themselves,” Walden said. “They have nothing to be ashamed of. If the rest of the teams want to sell their souls for a few bucks, that’s their problem, not ours.”
Of course, souls are a lot more expensive than they used to be. And the early leapers are rewarded on such unstable ground. Even if they’re initially not full partners in the Big Ten, Washington and Oregon might double their annual media income.
After the stunning shift of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC, and USC and UCLA abandoning the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, the migration was on.
More moves are imminent, and once all the outbound teams un-Pac, WSU, Oregon State, Stanford and California could be looking around and wondering what happened to all their old friends.
The best outcome for WSU at this point?
“I don’t think there’s going to be one.” Walden said, crossing off the list of likely departures from the Pac-12. “If there’s only four left, if Stanford and Cal stay the course, the only choice is to join up with the Mountain West and maybe call it the Mountain West Coast.” (Trademark: Jim Walden).
They’d have to cut expenses, of course, and go with smaller staffs, but it could be done.
“Teams like Wyoming and Air Force and New Mexico and San Diego State and Fresno State (and others) all survive and compete, and if they can, don’t try to tell me four schools from the Pac-12 can’t compete with them.
“So, you get yourself in the league and you get yourself competitive and you go play. And maybe pretty soon you’re playing for a championship and when the Air Force Academy comes to Pullman, you can bet there’ll be fans there.”
With Washington perhaps scheduled to play against a Big Ten rival like, say, Rutgers some November weekend in the future, the historic Apple Cup could be endangered.
“I imagine they’ll hang onto the Apple Cup as long as they can,” Walden said. “They’d be foolish to drop it, but it WILL get dropped at some point.”
Walden remembered a time when he was coaching Iowa State and in a meeting with Big 8 athletic directors and he complained about the focus on Oklahoma versus Nebraska. One of the ADs told him that it was one rivalry that would never go away. “I said something like, ‘Nothing lasts forever.’ It didn’t. So, when you say they’ll never drop the Apple Cup … it could end three years from now.”
Nothing Lasts Forever. NLF: should be the name of one of the new, expanded conferences. Makes more sense than a 20-team Big Ten.
The pain of adapting will be hardest on those who have been most used to the old ways, Walden said. “If you’re under 45, you probably move on pretty easily. Those of us over 45 tend to hold onto things.”
Regardless of the fan’s age, he suggests focusing on loyalty to the team regardless of the conference or the opponents.
“You’ve got no choice,” Walden said, warming up for one of his classic quotes that, by the end of it, feels like a rousing pregame pep talk. “But be sure that if you’re a Cougar, you don’t put yourself down. You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. You didn’t turn your back on anybody. All you’re trying to do is survive.
“You don’t have to live in the high-end district, you just have to make the best of what you’ve got and not be ashamed of it. That’s what Oregon State and Washington State and whoever else is left over has do to. You just keep going out and doing the best you can and being proud of it.”
It may be hard for a while, but new rivalries will develop, and fans will have new players to love and opponents to despise.
Adapt to survive.