Gone, but not forgotten

You've seen the shirts. Maybe you even have one.

The Eagles were chasing the program’s first Big Sky title in the fall of 1997. They nearly pulled it off, but Sacramento State dug out a one-shot victory. “That was tough, that was our one chance,” said Kyle Kelly, a North Central grad. “Long ride back home to Spokane.” It was the closest the Eagles came to winning the championship, though they made a few more runs at it before the school dropped the program in 2002.

Over time, the geography of an increasingly far-flung schedule would put them on airplanes, and the women of Washington State's field hockey team would entertain fellow passengers in the terminal — or annoy the grumpy ones — by balancing balls on their sticks or doing the juggling thing that would later allow Tiger Woods to help himself to more of Nike's cash.

It was 1989, the thick of baseball season, and Randy Absalonson had a secret.

Herb Carlson unwrapped his future at the age of 6.