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Mike Leach says ‘things are looking good’ for WSU course this spring on football, war

Washington State Cougars head coach Mike Leach, seen here before kickoff of the 2018 Alamo Bowl game against Iowa State, tweeted Tuesday to encourage WSU students to begin preparations for attending his course on warfare and football, tentatively scheduled for this spring on the Palouse. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Kip Hill kiph@spokesman.com(509) 459-5429

Mike Leach encouraged Washington State University students on Tuesday to begin preparing for his football and warfare class, first floated late last year.

The head Cougars football coach tweeted the course would be offered this spring, but not for college credit. Taught in tandem with Spokane County Treasurer Michael Baumgartner, the course would combine the study of underdog forces in warfare with football strategy, areas where both men have academic and practical expertise.

“Things are looking good for our Insurgent Warfare & Football class,” Leach tweeted from his personal account to more than 140,000 followers Tuesday evening. “Interested WSU students will need to write two short essays to apply for admission. Stay tuned for more details on how to apply.”

Those essays ask potential applicants, who Leach wrote must be current WSU students, to answer questions about the British response to communist insurgency in present-day Malaysia in the 1940s and ’50s, and using the unconventional wishbone offense in the NFL. Elements of the wishbone, which combines a fullback with two traditional running backs in the backfield, are key components of Leach’s “Air Raid” offensive attack.

Phil Weiler, vice president of marketing and communications for the university, said Tuesday some details still need to be worked out if the course is to be offered this spring. He said the university’s athletics department would have more details in the coming days.

Leach tweeted out a tentative class schedule that includes five night sessions, with the final meeting being broadcast online and open to members of the Cougar Athletic Fund, the athletic department’s fundraising arm. A previous syllabus for the course listed required readings that include Leach’s book on the Native American leader Geronimo and a 2011 work written about Leach’s time with Texas Tech University.

Each class session would be open to as many as 40 current WSU students, Leach wrote on Twitter.