Fall 2024
A Life Impossible
Steve Gleason’s memoir tells of his will to live through the excruciating and incurable disease ALS. » More ...
Athletes
Fall 2024
Resolve: An excerpt from A Life Impossible
Michel and I went swimming in the shallow water of the Gulf of Mexico to get in some light exercise without putting too much strain on my body. I waded along the shoreline in chest-high water so I could still touch the sand with my feet. Then, very gradually, a subtle undertow pulled me into deeper water. In astonishment and with raw, primal fear, all I could do was look at Michel, and do my best to cry “Help.”
I had always been a strong swimmer, but now I was seeing and comprehending in stark detail just how much my body had withered. My … » More …
Spring 2023
The long kick
Former Washington State University and Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hanson kept his faith and focus while setting records. » More ...
Spring 2022
Standing tall
Washington State University and NBA star James Donaldson turns his struggles with mental health into hope. » More ...
Spring 2022
Video and stories about James Donaldson
Former Coug and NBA basketball star James Donaldson (’79 Socio.) faced a lot of adversity over the last decade. He has turned his struggles with mental health into a new purpose: helping others through sharing his experiences.
Video: Eric Johnson (’84 Comm.) interviews Donaldson for Eric’s Heroes on Seattle’s KOMO-TV
Donaldson is a guest on Chino y Chicano, co-hosted by Enrique Cerna (’75 Comm.). (Read more about Cerna and his podcast)
Your Gift of Life: Donaldson’s nonprofit to increase awareness of mental health
Read more about Donaldson’s journey back in “Standing tall.”
From the … » More …
Spring 2019
Chaplin’s athletes
Washington State University men’s track and field coach John Chaplin ’63 led the most successful sports program in Cougar history.
The Cougars went undefeated in dual meets nine seasons en route to a 202-17 record during his 21-year tenure. WSU won four Pac-10 outdoor championships, was NCAA runner-up four times outdoors, and claimed the 1977 NCAA indoor championship. Chaplin’s athletes earned 105 All-America certificates and 61 conference titles. Below are just a few of the many athletes he mentored and coached over his years with the program.
Read more about Chaplin and his legacy in “Athlete, coach, winner.”
TUARIKI JOHN DELAMERE: Tuariki “John” Delamere … » More …
Spring 2017
How you play the game
It took a while for the guys to start passing her the ball during pickup games at the gym.
Jeanne (Eggart) Helfer ’82 stuck with it, spending much of her free time back in 1977 simply running the length of the basketball court waiting for a chance to show she knew her way around the paint. It was her first semester at Washington State, a few months before she would start setting school records, and Helfer patiently waited for the guys to discover what her older brother and his friends already had learned back in Walla Walla.
That girl can shoot. And pass. And rebound.
… » More …
Summer 2016
WSU Olympic medalists
More than 50 of Washington State University’s top athletes have made it to the Olympics since 1920. Here’s a look at the eight who took home medals:
Paul Enquist ’77, rowing; Los Angeles 1984, gold; USA. Part of the two-man double sculls team that edged out Belgium to become the first U.S. team in two decades to win gold in an Olympic rowing event.
Mike Kinkade ’96, baseball; Sydney 2000, gold; USA. Played third base for Team USA which beat perennial powerhouse Cuba in a three-hit shutout for the gold medal.
Peter Koech ’86, 3,000-meter steeplechase; Seoul 1988, silver; Kenya. Kenya nearly swept this event, taking gold and … » More …
Spring 2015
A new field of dreams
In November under the lights of their newly renovated field, the WSU women’s soccer team competed in their fourth straight NCAA tournament, a first for the Cougars. They played tough against Seattle University in the polar chill, losing by one goal in double overtime.
The debuts of both the rebuilt Lower Soccer Field and head coach Steve Nugent came back in August with a 3-0 win versus Texas Christian University. Nugent and the team went 10–4–4 for the season, led by a group of seniors that boasts 48 victories, the most in school history during a four-year span.
Among them was goalkeeper Gurveen Clair, who … » More …
Winter 2014
The right color back on
Ask Jason Gesser ’02 about the finest decision he’s made and his answer is as pinpoint as each of the 70 career touchdown passes he threw at Washington State.
“Coming to Washington State was the perfect and best decision I made in my life,” he says. “Besides marrying my wife,” Gesser is quick to add, with a laugh. He married his college girlfriend Kali Surplus ’02, a former WSU volleyball player, and the couple has three children.
In his new role as the assistant director of development with the Cougar Athletic Fund, the fundraising arm of the Washington State University Athletic Department, his … » More …