WSU parting ways with AD Anne McCoy, elevating Jon Haarlow into interim AD role
PULLMAN – Anne McCoy’s tenure as Washington State University’s athletic director is over after less than two years.
WSU announced Wednesday that senior deputy AD Jon Haarlow would be elevated into the interim AD role.
The shake-up is the first major move by new university president Elizabeth Cantwell. In a recent interview with 247Sports, she stressed the importance of raising money for NIL and facility upgrades at WSU, a centerpiece of the rebuilt Pac-12, which launches next year.
“Anne has provided steady leadership through one of the most complex and pivotal periods in the history of Cougar athletics,” she said via release. “She built a strong foundation for the program’s future grounded in integrity, academic success, and care for our student-athletes. We are deeply grateful for Anne’s decades of service and her unwavering commitment to Washington State University.”
In the spring of 2024, McCoy took over in the interim after former AD Pat Chun decamped for the same job at the University of Washington. In his last year at WSU, Chun’s salary was $1.3 million, according to state records. McCoy earned a salary of $233,700.
Cantwell and other WSU leaders are looking for an aggressive fundraising athletic director as the new conference prepares to launch. Changes are afoot at WSU with a new president, a new conference and now the search for a new leader of the athletic department.
In her 17 months on the job, McCoy made two big hires: Jimmy Rogers as football coach and David Riley as men’s basketball coach.
After coming over from FCS South Dakota State last December, Rogers’ team is 4-5 during an up-and-down season in which the team has played competitively against nationally ranked teams but has lagged during other games. The Cougars remain two wins away from bowl eligibility.
Riley’s Cougars went 19-15 in his debut season, making a postseason appearance in the new College Basketball Crown. This season, the club has opened 1-2.
As interim AD, McCoy also hired swimming coach Russ Whitaker and women’s golf coach Kevin Tucker. She also extended by one year the contracts of Riley and women’s basketball coach Kamie Ethridge, locking them up through the 2030-31 season.
McCoy also had a hand in getting the green light for beer and wine sales at Gesa Field, which began with this season’s Apple Cup. That had long been a priority for fans, who clamored for beer sales at football games.
Around the WSU athletics orbit, hiring Rogers and Riley have resonated as solid decisions, if a bit shaky after the men’s hoops team opened with two straight losses. But not all of McCoy’s moves went over as well. This summer, when WSU announced it was cutting all field events from the track and field program, it did so with a remarkably short news release, which included only five sentences.
Then, three weeks passed before McCoy made herself available to address the matter in a Zoom news conference. At that time, she said, “the decision was made not for financial reasons as much as for competitive success and the ability to provide a high-level experience.” But she also acknowledged that cutting three assistant coaching positions would save the program about $300,000.
Asked about the delay in messaging, McCoy said she and other WSU brass’ focus had been on the team and providing resources, adding: “I understand the perception of our or my response may be in the eye of the beholder, but in my mind, it’s been just the opposite. I feel like we have been out front with our student-athletes.”
It is unclear to what extent, but McCoy also played a role in helping WSU land a new media rights package for the rebuilt Pac-12. Five of six Cougar home football games have been broadcast on the CW, which also partnered with the program last fall. CBS broadcast two more WSU games this season – the Sept. 20 Apple Cup and a Nov. 1 matchup against Oregon State, the only other traditional Pac-12 holdover.
Around the WSU athletic department, the women’s basketball team has opened 0-3 under Ethridge, who has been on the job since 2018.
In two seasons under coach Nathan Choate, who was hired by Chun, the Cougars’ baseball team has gone 35-68. Things are going a bit better for WSU’s volleyball team, which has opened 14-8 under coach Korey Schroeder, another Chun hire.
McCoy had been at WSU since 2001, serving a variety of roles, including associate director of athletics for internal operations. That kind of background in Pullman made her an attractive candidate for the job, which was given by former president Kirk Schulz, who retired last year.
McCoy took over at a difficult time for WSU. The trajectory of the Cougars’ entire athletic department changed in August 2023, when 10 traditional Pac-12 schools left to join other conferences, leaving behind WSU and Oregon State. The following spring is when Chun bolted for the same job at rival UW, one of the teams to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten.
Haarlow, whose current full job title is assistant VP and senior deputy director of athletics, chief operating officer, accepted the job in January 2021.
Additionally, one of WSU’s deputy ADs, Ike Ukaegbu, is leaving. He’s taking a job as Utah State’s chief operating officer, the Aggies announced Wednesday morning, ending his stay of three-plus years with the Cougars.