I think Sterk is just moving himself out the door by doing this. If he didn't notice how much he pissed off the fan base by attempting to move the AC to Qwest, he must be blind. This is a horrible idea and will result in a lot of lost season ticket sales, though the team play may do that anyway. Take one of the top games for season ticket holders away and it may make more people think twice about buying those tickets, especially when the team isn't much to watch right now. Sure it could bring in more money for that one game, but will it offset the money lost in season ticket sales?

The only way I support a league game in Qwest is if it is a yearly neutral field game with Oregon State with the 50/50 sales and played either Labor Day weekend or Thanksgiving week.

I know we need the money, but it's the same issue all over again as it was with the Apple Cup. I really dislike that we are (have to be?)so willing to give up our homefield advantage to a Pac-10 foe that also happens to be a NW rival. If this becomes reality, WSU must be careful how tickets are allotted, because if we just open ticket sales up to the public right away we could see Qwest Field half filled with green and yellow. Ugh.

I'm with Hawk...I'd much rather play OSU @ Qwest...at least our fanbases can relate to one another.

enough with the seattle game already(and i live in seattle). i mean, will there a come a point where they try to get all the home games moved to Qwest for the extra money? maybe do it once every 3 or 4 years or something.

As far as the game goes, I don't care. Let it be the ducks if it makes money. Just another road game for us--ala the Mariners playing the Yankees or Red Sox at Safeco, "Hey I thought we were playing in Seattle!"

Yesterday afternoon on ESPN the Ticket out of Spokane, Dennis Patchin interviewed our Cal transfer running back Montgomery. Patchin asked him what he thought of playing behind other QBs and then was specific about playing behind Tuel. It was very obvious how excited Montgomery was about Tuel and I think obvious that Montgomery would like to see Tuel out there playing. He raved about his arm and passes and his running. He didn't say anything bad about the other two, but didn't say anything good either. He really said nothing about them. But boy did he bubble over talking about Tuel.

Also, Patchin asked him why he came to Pullman, and Monty said he visited and really liked the idea of Pullman. The small college town and he didn't really like living in the big environment of Berkely/Bay area.

Patchin didn't realize he was from Sactown, so he asked if Monty was from a small town. He said, "No, I'm from Sacramento. Not a small city, not a big one."

I don't like this idea from a fan's perspective. But it is part of Jim Sterk's job to figure out how to increase revenues for the WSU athletic program. He must explore all options, especially right now, when we are 10th in budget, significantly behind #9. I think he is doing his job. We may not like it, but he has to be pragmatic.

In talking with my Duck fans at work, they would find it much easier to go to the game in Seattle than Pullman, and would be excited about it. But that's kind of a duhh... moment. All that does for us is potentially increase the gate. Nothing to sneeze at, but also reduces home field advantage. Plus, it's still a travel game for us.

My main concern, though, is precedent. If we do this with Oregon, then how long until USC says "We won't play you in Pullman, only Seattle, and since you do this for Oregon, no reason you can't do this for us." Remember, this was the way it was for a long time in the 60's and 70's. They would only play us in Seattle or Spokane. And then every Pac-10 team would be asking for the same treatment.

Money causes people to do strange things sometimes.

On the OSU/WSU yearly neutral game idea, obvious precedent for this:

Oklahoma vs. Texas

I thought a primary reason to play in Quest was to get quality non conference opponents who don't want to come to Pullman. Isn't that why we do things like have a "home" game against Notre Dame in San Antonio? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me to play a Pac-10 opponent there, unless we are so bad we can't schedule a non-conference game even in Seattle.

According to Google maps, the drive from UO to Quest is about 45 minutes shorter than that from WSU to Quest.

If they can't find an "attractive" non-conference opponent to come to Seattle and they are intent on having one game a year there, I would much rather see OSU than Oregon. I understand the economics behind having a game there. But at the same time, they need to draw more than 40K to a game. Notre Dame would be ideal as it would most definitely sell out. I am entirely against seeing us play Oregon in Seattle. OSU, Ok I guess. Then again, from a MONEY standpoint, I wasn't entirely against the Apple Cup being played there for a 6-year span for the sake of the University. I didn't like it, but if the ticket allotment was even, then I could live with losing the 3 games that would have been played in Pullman.

Actually, the ND game in SA is a "home" game for them, not us. But I totally understand your point.

If we have to do this, I would rather play OSU every year in Qwest (is there a comparable stadium in Portland?) than the Ducks.

Poor Bastard: You may be right about the time/distance of travel between Eugene and Seattle/Pullman being nearly equal, but you must remember that there is a LARGE faction of Duck fans in Portland (believe me, as someone that works in Downtown Portland, all of the green "O"s nearly makes me ill on a daily basis). Portland Ducks would likely love the chance to see their team on the road while only having to drive 3 hours as opposed to the 6 hours it takes to get from Portland/Vancouver to Pullman.

WSU91: No, there is nothing even close in comparison to Qwest in Portland. The only thing Portland has is PGE Park, where the Beavers (AAA baseball), USL Portland Timbers (soccer) and PSU Vikings (football) play...I think it's only holds about 22K for football. Portland is truly a minor-league town (but the Rose Garden is nice). So, no option to split neutral games between Qwest and a neutral field in Portland with either of the Oregon schools.

It could be a not-so-good move for the rest of the conference, although not much came of the USC-WSU games in the Kingdome. But we know other teams hate going to Pullman, that isn't a secret. And you know the wine-n-cheese big LA money in USC and UCLA would love to skip going to Pullman altogether, trading it in for Seattle and an NFL stadium? Where they could get some recruits in the area to come to the game, their fans could travel in style, making a Seattle weekend out of it, and sit in beautiful luxury boxes? Uh yeah, "where do WE sign up for that?" is probably something every PAC-10 AD would be wondering if this goes down!

I'm all for playing Oregon State in Qwest. Whatever happens, they need to spice up the Seattle game and give people a reason to go. When the whole thing first started, I had several friends who lived in Spokane at the time who made the trip without a second thought. But the last few years, they've been finding excuses not to make the trip over. And these are season ticket holders, not the fair weather, one-game-and-done crowd. The attendance numbers show something has to change.

Oregon will travel, so we will make money. But even with Oregon traveling well, if the ticket allotment is done properly, Qwest would only turn into a neutral field, at best. It would be up to us to fill that bad boy in crimson..

Unless:

1. It does not count as a home game for us (if playing a Pac-10 opponent) - it is not an advantage for WSU.

2. We actually get a quality non-conference opponent there like Notre Dame or Ohio State (not Hawaii, Colorado, Grambling St, etc) - I mean wasn't that the point??

3. We get a reasonable allotment of tickets.

No Qwest please.....in general, we do not play well there....and true Cougs in western washington will travel to Pullman.


BB

BB,

You say true Cougs in West Wa. will travel to Pullman, but based on the Stanford game attendance it looks like niether Western or Eastern Wa. Cougs will travel to Pullman.

Fact is, Cougs need money and they don't make it from 22,000 (with 7-10,000 of those being students) showing up for a home conference opener. What do people think is going to happen if we can't put butts in the seats in Pullman? And it's not just because the team stinks, I was there against ASU in 03 when we couldn't sell out Senior day with a Top 10 team.

This is all on Coug fans. If you don't want games moved, put butts in the seats. Right now, we don't do that nor do we donate.

Couve - that's what I though, having been there a few times.

I might get the chance to go to the Oregon State/Cincy game Saturday. If I do, I'll ask OSU fans what they would think of an every year neutral game at Qwest between us and them.

On a football note, I hope I get to go to that game. As a basically neutral fan (pulling for OSU for sentimental and Pac-10 reasons), it should be a great game to watch. Cincy is a good team.

Folks, where this game is concerned, is not about putting fannies in Martin Stadium--although doing so would certainly help immeasurably.

The bottom line is that Qwest seats about 30,000 more fans at a cost to fans that is much higher..Again, this isn't a neutral field game where the gate is split. Instead, this is an opportunity for us to sell out Qwest and reap in a huge portion of the gate.

We need money folks, not only for football and for Martin Stadium, but for the entire athletic department. And remember, in order to meet the conference's bottom line, we need to be in full compliance with Title IX. That means we need to fund sports that generate zero revenue at the same time that we no longer have state funds to support those sports..

WE HAVE TO DO THIS!

Agree with your principle - that's my point about Sterk doing his job. This is a big part of his job, and you bring up good points about Title IX.

I just hope we can work it out with Oregon or Oregon State, preferably OSU, but perhaps Oregon first, since next years game with the Ducks is scheduled for Pullman. But I don't want the rest of the conference members trying to screw us as well.

But, again, it doesn't mean I have to like it.

Just another not-so-friendly reminder that we MUST get going on Phase III of the Martin Stadium renovation, as Kaddy is always trumpeting. Like you point out above Sutra, Football carries the mail for the entire Athletic Dept. (and I'd take it a step further than saying it funds sports that generate zero revenue...truth is that with the exception of Men's Basketball, every other sport generates NEGATIVE revenue!). Knowing that the quack fans would almost certainly make a game with them at Qwest a sellout (and we get to keep the entire gate revenue after the First and Goal folks get their pound of flesh) makes this an almost no-brainer.

If those of us that are truly against Pac-10 games in Seattle want to voice our displeasure, it's once again abundantly clear that the best way to do that is to donate to Phase III of the renovation of Martin Stadium!

If our PAC 10 opponents want to contribute to out stadium expansion, then fine. Seems like this is the easiest way to generate some of the needed revenue. I want all of our home games in Pullman as well. But if we TEMPORARILY play PAC 10 games ONCE a year in Pullman until Phase III and maybe even Phase IV is complete, then I say it is a sacrifice we must make. After that, I only want us to play non-conference teams in Seattle.

What was the line in Animal House when they were screening the pledge prospects to decide who to offer? They flashed a slide of Otter, I believe, and the reaction in the room was "Meh" and then someone says,

"F-ck it, we need the dues"

That pretty much sums up my thoughts about an OSU or UO game at Qwest.

My star rating would be as follows:
15 or more offers from a BCS school: 5 star
9 or more offers from a BCS school: 4 star
5 or more offers from a BCS school: 3 star
2 or more offers from a BCS school: 2 star
1 offer from a BCS school: 1 star
I would trust the evaluation of several BCS coaches over 1 scout.

WSU91, the helmet schedule says "Notre Dame" as opposed to "at Notre dame", but upon further review on ESPN.com, I stand corrected.

'03CouveCoug, My point was actually that it would not be a WSU advantage since OU is actually closer than WSU, Portland is closer still, and there is actually no shortage of OU alums in Seattle itself. But reading Sutra's post, I can see that every OU fan is money in the pocket for WSU, and I see why we need that, even if it doesn't help us win the game (long shot in any case.)

Whatever. If they do it I will be there, and f it, we need the dues.

WSU91 - you're going to OSU-Cincy instead of WSU-SMU this weekend? Kind of the point to all of this. Yes, I know it's harder to get to Pullman, but you can do it in a day (a long day)...

The reason I *might* go to OSU/Cincy is because I have friends here in central OR who might have two extra free tix, and it would be my 5 year old daughter (who is an OSU fan) and me with my buddy and his 5 year old daughter (also an OSU fan). Otherwise, I'm not going anywhere this weekend. Frankly, I don't think I need to explain myself here, but since you brought it up...

Screw it, lets do USC in Seattle every year. Its not like we're going to beat them anytime soon regardless of where we play.

Ptowncoug:

If you look closely, WSU was the ONLY school that offered him. He did not receive offers from Fresno State, UCLA, Oregon, or UNLV.

I didn't mean to call you out personally, WSU91. My point is that we don't have many fans that make a point to go to Pullman for games. You may go to games every year - I don't know - but you would be in the minority, if so.

I realize that I'm more committed than most, but everyone complains about the state of our program, and people wonder why. I take my entire family to one home game a year in Pullman, which includes my wife and 3 kids (6,4,1). Pullman is a place that you have to commit to visiting.

The only thing that sickens me about the idea of playing Oregon at Qwest is that so many "fans" are for it. Get your asses to Pullman, pussies.

If you don't like the idea of playing in Seattle, than buck the f**k up and star buying tickets and attending games in Martin Stadium. I am not well to do at this point of my career by any means, but I still donate to Athletics each year. Many of your employers will even match the donation!

WSU has a policy that Athletic donations can only be made if you reach out to do so. Other groups who have dollars raised through the Foundation can reach out to solicit us, Athletics cannot!

Instead of that new pair of jeans, or that new shotgun, DONATE TO ATHLETICS. Before you read any further, if you have not donated, click this link and donate!! http://wsufoundation.wsu.edu/g...Foundation

I am sick of listening to people bitch about Wulff, and our recruits, and the prospect of playing conference games in Seattle, and not getting Martin Stadium remodeled, etc. Yet at the same time these are the same people who don't do anything to support our team.

GO COUGS!!!

Kaddy,

No worries...and I agree with your underlying point.

My issue is that since I live in Oregon, all my kids (but one) have become Oregon State fans. I have failed!

I sympathize with you 91'. I have triplet nieces that used to live in Yakima, but now live in Bend. 2 0f the 3 have been brainwashed as Duck fans. I have held onto one, and she is a Coug through and through. In fact, I am taking her and my 6 year old daughter to their first game on Saturday. Unfortunately my daughter told me last night that "the Cougars only win in basketball". Cute, but true...boy times have changed!

Nice story, Yaki! The Ducks are second only to Huskies in terms of arrogance.

I have five, and I live near Bend. The oldest doesn't care about sports, and also pushes buttons, so goes around the house saying "Go Huskies" just to piss me off. Two more are huge Beaver fans. But I'll take Beavers over Yucks any day. My youngest is too young. Only one is a true Coug, and he is really a true Coug, he goes around the house singing the WSU fight song.

Yes, Duck fans are VERY annoying. Talk about feeling entitled! I have two daughters, the youngest is being "Coug-i-fied" as well. I've gone as far to eliminate almost anything purple in my house as well. That is pretty hard to do with a house full of girls! My mother-in-law is always making purple colored quilts or buying purple clothes for my girls. I know she does that sh!t on purpose! In fact, my 6 year old had purple nail polish on and she is having her mom re-paint them before we go to the game tomorrow!
At least your youngest had seen the light, and yes, the Beavs are much easier to take than the Ducks. You could always just "cut-off" your oldest! Go Cougs!

You guys haven't failed...you just have to try harder. I've been brainwashing the sh!t out of my kids since day one, and it's worked. Both my girls know the fight song (6,4), even though they can only last about a quarter of a football game. Honestly, getting them to a game in Pullman with the sunshine and the crowd cheering sealed the deal for me...it's not too late!