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Sports >  WSU football

Pac-12 Conference extends ban on organized team activities

UPDATED: Mon., March 30, 2020

Pac-12 student-athletes, including the football players at Washington State who’d yet to hold a spring practice under new coach Nick Rolovich, won’t be able to regroup for organized team activities until at least May 31, according to a decision by the conference’s CEOs.

Sports >  WSU basketball

What happens next: A three-part series on the abrupt end to Washington State’s basketball season

UPDATED: Sat., March 28, 2020

Before the season started, Kyle Smith and the data-infatuated assistants on his Washington State coaching staff tried to handicap where the Cougars would land on Ken Pomeroy’s rankings map when 2019-20 campaign finished.

Sports >  WSU football

‘He never had a sad day.’ Before unexpected death, ‘fun-loving’ Bryce Beekman left lasting impact on Washington State teammates

UPDATED: Sun., March 29, 2020

For two or three hours every day last fall, Bryce Beekman endeared himself to Washington State teammates with an irresistible smile and unmistakable laugh. Some, like Easop Winston Jr., were fortunate to get both in larger doses.

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Sports >  WSU basketball

What’s happening: A three-part series on the abrupt end to Washington State’s basketball season

UPDATED: Fri., March 27, 2020

Kyle Smith may not be instructing young adults on the anatomy of pick-and-roll defense right now, but it doesn’t mean the first-year Washington State basketball coach is fully escaping teacher mode in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sports >  WSU basketball

What happened: A three-part series on the abrupt end to Washington State’s basketball season

UPDATED: Thu., March 26, 2020

Not until he woke up Thursday morning could Jeff Pollard fully grasp the breadth of the history he and his Washington State teammates had made the night before, beating Colorado 82-68 in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Sports >  WSU football

Teammates, coaches, friends react to death of Washington State safety Bryce Beekman

UPDATED: Wed., March 25, 2020

Countless current and former teammates, coaches, friends and others shared their condolences on social media after it was learned rising redshirt senior safety Bryce Beekman died Tuesday night at the age of 22.

Sports >  WSU football

Washington State redshirt senior defensive back Bryce Beekman dies at 22

UPDATED: Wed., March 25, 2020

Bryce Beekman, a redshirt senior defensive back on Washington State’s football team, died Tuesday night in Pullman, Pullman Police Commander Jake Opgenorth confirmed to The Spokesman-Review.

Sports >  WSU football

As coronavirus permeates college football, Washington State’s Nick Rolovich forced to call audibles

UPDATED: Tue., March 24, 2020

For Nick Rolovich and his Washington State staff, it’s all about the audibles right now. An example: on Tuesday afternoon, before the first-year coach joined a Zoom conference call with nearly 20 reporters to discuss how his football program is reacting and adjusting to the spread of COVID-19, he played tour guide for a recruiting prospect.

Sports >  WSU football

Transcript: Washington State’s Nick Rolovich addresses impact of COVID-19, spring football, supporting local restaurants

UPDATED: Tue., March 24, 2020

Three days removed from when spring football was supposed to begin at Washington State, first-year Cougars coach Nick Rolovich spoke to local and national reporters Tuuesday in a conference call to discuss the impact of COVID-19, the delay of spring camp and his initiative to support loal restaurants.

Sports >  EWU football

Spring football practice canceled for Eastern Washington, Idaho after Big Sky decision

UPDATED: Mon., March 23, 2020

Eastern Washington and Idaho will no longer get the benefit of spring football after the Presidents’ Council of the Big Sky Conference voted Monday to cancel all spring workouts and activities through May 15 in order to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

Sports >  WSU football

Washington State athletics in ‘triage mode’

UPDATED: Fri., March 20, 2020

While the university puts plans in place to combat and mitigate the novel coronavirus that’s already afflicted more than 1,500 Washingtonians, Pat Chun is busy figuring out what’s next, and what’s best, for WSU’s athletic department.

Sports >  Area sports

Transcript: Pat Chun delivers update on state of Washington State athletics as school deals with coronavirus

Fri., March 20, 2020

One week removed from the NCAA’s decision to cancel its basketball tournaments, spring sports and indefinitely suspend other organized team activities, WSU AD Pat Chun spoke with reporters to discuss how the changes have impacted student-athletes in Pullman, the financial impact and what they mean for upcoming events such as spring football and Pro Day.

Sports >  WSU football

In five stages, how Washington State’s Gardner Minshew became QB1 for Jacksonville

UPDATED: Fri., March 20, 2020

Even as the coronavirus pandemic has shut down college basketball, the NBA, MLB and NHL, NFL free agency has delivered some uplifting news to fans in eastern Washington and northeast Florida who have a shared admiration for former Washington State and current Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Gardner Minshew.

Sports >  WSU basketball

Ten snapshots from Washington State’s memorable 2019-20 basketball season

UPDATED: Fri., March 20, 2020

Washington State and seven of its peers in the Pac-12 didn’t get the closure they desperately wanted when the conference decided last Thursday to cancel the remainder of its tournament in Las Vegas, following the lead of others in the college basketball world amid coronavirus worries.

Sports >  WSU football

Andre Dillard: Playing for ex-Washington State coach Mike Leach ‘a little bit like a dictatorship’

UPDATED: Sun., March 15, 2020

While visiting his hometown of Woodinville, Washington, recently, Dillard spoke with Derek Johnson, who runs the website WoodinvilleSports.com, and offered a brutally honest review of Leach’s coaching style, causing a social media stir among former players, current players and Washington State fans.

Sports >  WSU football

Pac-12 cancels spring sports amid coronavirus pandemic; Washington State suspends team activities through April 2

UPDATED: Sat., March 14, 2020

Two days after canceling its men’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas and suspending all sports until forther notice, the Pac-12 Conference announced Saturday it will cancel conference and non-conference sport competitions and Pac-12 championships through the end of the academic year.

Sports >  WSU basketball

Pac-12 Tournament canceled due to coronavirus, ending Washington State basketball season

UPDATED: Thu., March 12, 2020

Wednesday’s nightcap between No. 11 Washington State and No. 6 Colorado at T-Mobile Arena was the final game of the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament, after the conference decided to cancel the remainder of the 2020 event due to concerns about the coronavirus illness.

Sports >  WSU basketball

Pac-12 Tournament notes: Washington State, Arizona State to play quarterfinal in barren T-Mobile Arena

Thu., March 12, 2020

Before WSU’s 2019-20 season started, the Cougars staged two closed-door scrimmages against opponents from the Big Sky. Perhaps it’s a positive sign the Cougars did well in both – blowing past eventual Big Sky regular-season champ EWU 96-75 before beating Montana 65-63 – because they’ll encounter a similar situation against ASU in the Pac-12 Tournament.

Sports >  WSU basketball

‘It’s a big moment.’ Washington State leaves no doubt against Colorado, breaking decade-long drought at Pac-12 tournament

UPDATED: Thu., March 12, 2020

The lead already seemed good enough when Jeff Pollard caught the ball down low and slipped an inside bounce pass to Tony Miller, who drove to the basket, cocked his right arm back and punched the ball through the net, putting all 6-foot-8, 262 pounds of Evan Battey on Washington State poster.

Sports >  WSU football

Washington State to exercise new attendance protocols for home athletic competitions

UPDATED: Wed., March 11, 2020

Aligning with the school’s decision to move in-person classes to online formats following the spring break, Washington State Athletics announced new attendance protocols Wednesday for home athletic competitions that will take effect later this week.

Sports >  WSU basketball

CBI canceled due to coronavirus, diminishing Washington State’s chance of postseason berth

UPDATED: Wed., March 11, 2020

Unless Washington State can win four games in Las Vegas, the Cougars’ 2019-20 basketball season will presumably end this week at the Pac-12 Conference Tournament.

Sports >  WSU basketball

Riding 10-game conference tournament skid, Washington State trying to ‘change history’ against Colorado

Wed., March 11, 2020

Kyle Smith was a 39-year-old assistant at Saint Mary’s – three coaching stops and 11 years removed from where he is now – when Washington State last won a game in the Pac-12/10 Conference Tournament.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Gonzaga’s Mark Few whistled for first-half technical – and first technical since 2016 – in WCC Tournament title game

UPDATED: Tue., March 10, 2020

Mark Few and Gonzaga have built plenty of streaks through the years, and many of them during the West Coast Conference Tournament at Orleans Arena. One of the more obscure streaks came to an end Tuesday night during the first half of the Bulldogs’ 84-66 WCC championship game win over Saint Mary’s.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Joel Ayayi brings WCC Tournament MVP back to Gonzaga, France after 17-point effort

UPDATED: Tue., March 10, 2020

West Coast Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player honors returned to Gonzaga – and France – Tuesday night at the Orleans Arena

Sports >  WSU basketball

Pac-12 still moving forward with men’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas without restrictions

Tue., March 10, 2020

A statement from the Pac-12 Conference on Tuesday has reaffirmed that in the wake of concerns surrounding coronavirus, the league will still hold its men’s basketball tournament without interruption this week at T-Mobile Arena.