PULLMAN, Wash. – Like it or not, people pay attention to sports, and they pay attention to football in particular, said Washington State University Athletic Director Bill Moos. That’s why he thinks of athletics as the “front porch” of the university.
Speaking to the Administrative Professional Advisory Council (APAC) on Thursday, Moos said championship teams will benefit the entire university, and it starts with football: “If we get football healthy, all boats will rise,” he said. “I can give everybody more if we are filling the stadium and playing in bowl games.”
Promoting positive exposure
Moos was athletic director at the University of Oregon in 2000 when quarterback Joey Harrington was in the race for a Heisman Trophy. Near the end of the season, Moos led the campaign to install a billboard in New York City’s Times Square 14 stories high that promoted Harrington as “Joey Heisman.”
Harrington did not win, but Moos said within the next couple weeks he had reporters from the Washington Post, New York Times, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and other major media in Eugene writing positive stories about UO.
“They were saying, ‘Wow, this is the best kept secret in the country,’” Moos said. “To get that kind of exposure is one of the roles that intercollegiate athletics plays.”
History of improving programs
Moos, who was named WSU athletic director in April 2010, is a WSU graduate and was a three-year letterman in football here. He began his career at WSU as well, becoming an assistant athletic director in 1982. In 1990 he moved to the University of Montana as AD for five years before joining Oregon. He was AD at Oregon for 12 years before retiring in 2007.
Moos referred often to his years at Montana and Oregon as he explained what he is working to build at WSU. Getting to the top is difficult, he said, but staying there is even more difficult. In both Missoula and Eugene he was able to transform lackluster programs into championship programs that continue to be successful.
When the Oregon Ducks won the Rose Bowl earlier this month, he said, part of the credit was due to the program he began building in 1995.
Strategies for long-term success
Putting together a winning athletic program is no different than putting together a winning football team, he said. With 143 employees in the athletic department, he said, he is working to make sure everyone feels good about what they are doing and understands their contribution to the larger cause.
Moos said his department has created a strategic plan for long-term success and he and President Elson S. Floyd are in agreement on where they want to go: “The word mediocrity isn’t in his vocabulary,” Moos said, “and it isn’t in mine either.”
Moos said he didn’t come to WSU to be a maintenance man. In the 19 months since he’s been here, more than half the head coaches are new. In addition, the university has embarked on a multi-phase facilities plan. According to Moos, top-tier facilities are key to getting top-tier recruits.
Appealing to recruits
When recruits come to Pullman, he said, both they and their parents love the look of the campus and the friendliness of the community. The parents appreciate the fact that Pullman is safe, compact and offers a great college town experience.
For the players, though, it’s more about what’s in it for them, he said. They want to see the weight room and the indoor practice facility.
“So many times it’s the name on the back of the jersey, not the name on the front,” he said. They can be cured of that, Moos said, but you have to get them here first.
Though he would have preferred to move forward with a new operations facility before the stadium renovation, for logistical and funding reasons that couldn’t happen. In any case, he is excited about getting the luxury seating and new press box completed in time for next season with new head coach Mike Leach.
New coaches, new recruits
Leach’s hiring has set off a domino effect of changes, Moos said, with a stellar coaching staff coming together from all over the country.
Changes are in the works among recruits as well, he said. Eight athletes who agreed to play at WSU have been released from their commitments. Those spots are being filled with athletes who originally agreed to play elsewhere but are giving WSU another look.
These are top players who had committed to colleges with championship programs, Moos said, but they want to be part of the excitement that is building at WSU.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said. “You aren’t going to want to miss it.”