In case you have been living under a rock for the last two weeks, by now you are well aware that Jim Sterk has "upgraded" to the Mountain West and that Bill Moos is our new AD.  After a welcome to campus outing, that would have made the Rolling Stones blush, the hiring became official yesterday afternoon.  I believe the last time Cougar Nation was this fired up about something, Bill Clinton was still President.  Read on for more....

This hiring was summed up best in a recent Bud Withers article:

"Well, the Cougars are about to put a deposit in the pizzazz bank. At a news conference Wednesday, WSU will announce the hiring of Bill Moos, 59, to succeed Jim Sterk as athletic director.  This isn't a home run. It's a grand slam on a 3-2 pitch, down three in the last of the ninth, and the ball lands somewhere beyond Royal Brougham Way."

A Husky then wrote the following on my Facebook when I had that Withers quote in my Status Update:

"The great hope of Cougar athletics leans on a 59 year old man.... Sure beats leaning on Jeff Tuel."

At first, I wrote his comments off as general Husky arrogance, hell they were the ones who were considering Moos for their well publicized AD search just a few years ago.  Remember, it was the search that started with paying about $100K to some Atlanta-based firm, and ended months later with the hiring of somebody already on campus; heaven forbid a University President undertake a task like this. 

But then, after letting President Floyd's comments about Bill Moos settle in over these last few days, I thought about something:

No, he won't directly win games or conference championships.  But Floyd is the one laying the groundwork to recruit the high-caliber athletes needed to win games and championships.  He is like a mason in that he is laying the brick for the foundation, and he just completed the hiring of a bonafide BCS Athletic Director in about 10.5 days.  For that he deserves a huge thumbs up! Landing Moos, I guess this is comparable to the Arizona Diamondbacks landing Randy Johnson prior to the 1999 MLB season?  You know, a legitimate superstar ACE coming to town, providing instant credibility to a franchise that needed it.  Two years later, they win the '01 World Series!

So, here is what I have on Bill Moos' To-Do List.  Please feel free to chime in on the comments:

1) Complete Martin Stadium Renovation. Duh.  Jim Sterk got the ball moving on this project and definitely laid the foundation. It was unfortunate to hear the talk that Sterk had a naming-rights sponsor lined up, whom he had been working on for more than a year and it involved a donation of more than $10,000,000 only to have it was nixed at the 11th hour. 

Moos' job to finish Phase III is simple - RAISE MORE MONEY.  The design work and first two phases are already complete, that could be viewed by some as the hardest part. Word on the street is Bill already has some big-time donors ready to go.  To me, it's not IF it gets done, but WHEN.

2) Start meeting with donors of any level and target some whales. We often hear Paul Allen's name come up, but if Sterk and past ADs couldn't connect with the guy then what makes Moos able to do so?  We'll see how it goes there.  Another name in the corporate world that comes to my mind is former Boeing President, Scott Carson. 

But how about all of our athletes currently in the professional ranks?  The Kyle Weavers, Marcus Trufants, and Mark Hendricksons of the world should be able to spare some big money to their alma mater?  It really bothered me to hear a former player during a Night With Cougar Football in Seattle say that he hadn't been contacted by the Athletic Department.  In the midst of a public fundraising campaign for the stadium renovation deemed vital for Pac-10 survival, and they didn't contact this former player?  This honestly blew my mind. 

Not that all these guys have the potential to be "whales", but you would think that they should be the most willing to give back while earning considerably more than the average alum, where WSU had a big part on helping them become what they are today in the professional sports realm. 

Anyway,  hearing that Moos has the capability to mingle amongst the blue collar and white collar donors should be something that really does benefit the department.  And I love hearing he plans to bring the Nordstrom's Business Model to Pullman; even though the Nordstrom boys are Huskies, it has obviously worked well for that family.

3) Other Facility Upgrades. Beasley Coliseum and the Bohler locker rooms come to mind.  While at Oregon, Moos initiated more than $160 MILLION in facility upgrades, including: Autzen Stadium, two practice facilities, as well as an expansion of the varsity athletic weight room, both indoor and outdoor tennis facilities, and renovations to MacArthur Court and Hayward Field. 

Remember when people used to chuckle about the fact that recruits would choose Oregon based on their facilities alone?  Well, like it or not, that so-called arms race has now become a trend across the country.  Who better to lead Wazzu than the guy who was out in front and on the cutting edge at Oregon?

4) Destroy the settling for mediocrity attitude amongst Cougar Nation. While on campus last week Moos said the success Oregon has enjoyed the last 15 years or so in football can happen the same way at Washington State.  He added:   "We need to make this place a destination and not a stepping stone...and it's all about attitude."  During his introductory news conference Wednesday, he said he would like to change our current culture of the underdog mentality, to that of "winning and championships." 

So there you go.  Quite a list for the new AD!

Some final hiring notes, per Cougfan.

• He is impressed with recruiting under Wulff and considers the coach “very capable.”
• Has tentatively agreed to a seven-year contract that will pay him a guaranteed $455,000 a year, plus bonuses and incentives. The guaranteed portion of the salary is third highest in the Pac-10 among AD's.
• No promises have been made by Oregon, but negotiations continue with the Ducks on a settlement of the “no-compete” deal.
• Moos said “there are a lot of things that are not broken” in the athletic department, but he will form an executive committee to help design a “blueprint” for future success.

Have a great Thursday morning, Go Cougs!