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 …
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.
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While most reporters covering Ernie Kent focus on his affinity for fast-paced basketball and his ability to recruit, inevitably the subject of his sartorial splendor arises. He’s the “man of a million clothes,” according to The Seattle Times and in the Oregonian’s view, a “clothes horse,” with “tight ties,” and “sharp collars.”
Whether he’s coordinating plays or coordinating outfits, Ernie Kent is a man with a brand.
“In this day and age, your brand is huge,” says Kent. “If you don’t understand that at a young age, it’s going to be a shock to your system as you go from the bright lights of college … » More …
A music business graduate from Birmingham-Southern College, Keidane (Kih-Dawn-EE) McAlpine had designs on moving to Atlanta to work in the music industry.
He soon realized his disposition and the music business were discordant. “I’m not mean enough for that,” he says with a laugh.
Fortunately, McAlpine’s time at college had created other, more harmonious, opportunities.
“The doors that kept opening were the soccer doors,” says McAlpine, who is now the Washington State women’s soccer coach.
After his college playing days, BSC women’s coach, Lorrin Etka-Shepherd, offered him a position.
“She said I got a parttime job if I want it,” he remembers. “Next thing … » More …
Videos of WSU head coach Mike Leach at press conferences in 2011 and early 2012.
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I understand how the interview with Washington State University’s new head football coach Mike Leach drifts from Cougar football to life in Pullman and pirates in Key West (I asked that one), but bulls in ancient Rome? The Tokyo fish market?
It starts out on track, as I meet with Leach at his office in Bohler Gym looking onto the practice field and the south side of Martin Stadium. As workers on scaffolds rush to complete the new addition to the stadium before fall, Leach points out proudly how the project is on time and under budget.
He grabs several posters of the proposed football … » More …
On a Friday evening in August 1989, Tom Jager is about to race in a 50-meter freestyle event at the U.S. National Championships in Los Angeles.
The race marks the return of Olympic gold medalist Matt Biondi, who dueled with Jager in the same event at the 1988 Olympic Games less than a year earlier.
The capacity crowd of 2,500 is settling in for what promises to be a memorable race when Jager is called for a false start and disqualified, though TV replays indicate otherwise.
Jager’s reaction is immortalized in a New York Times photo taped to his Gibb Pool office window. His arms … » More …
When coach LaToya Harris stands with her team on the volleyball court at Lewis-Clark State College, here’s the remarkable thing: She doesn’t stand out.
Sure, she is the only one wearing black crop pants instead of blue shorts and a white tee, but, suddenly it hits you—this is the woman who tallied 1,459 kills during her WSU career and still holds the record for service aces.
Her Cougar teammates voted her the team’s most valuable player in 2000, 2001, and 2002, and she remains the only WSU player to ever earn that award three times. In 1999, as a freshman, she was an honorable … » More …