About the authors: Andrew Crookston

Thanks to the CougCenter editors, I have this opportunity to formally introduce myself to the rest of the entire community as a new contributing author. My name is Andrew Crookston. Previously, I commented under the moniker PullManiac.

My passion for college sports and land-grant universities was cultivated in the basement of my grandparents' Indiana home, where I spent countless hours eating popcorn and watching the Purdue Boilermakers play. My grandparents met at Purdue, where my Great-Grandfather (Grandmother's side) taught agriculture back in the day. Passion and loyalty to school were just something that was part of growing up for me.

When my chance to attend Purdue and other schools in the Midwest came, it just wasn't a good fit and the best opportunity. So I arrived in a state 2,000 plus miles away from my home where I had been to only once in my entire life. The acclimation process was short, if not instantaneous. The surrounding landscape and crops were different, but the passion, pride, and loyalty were so recognizable, I latched on to being a Coug and haven't looked back.

WSU and the Pullman communities have been really good to my family. I am grateful to be able to raise a son in Pullman and start a new family tradition of being Cougars. Following WSU Athletics is a fulfilling hobby and an outlet to express my excitement for the school and community. It takes a lot of determination for WSU to compete with the bigger schools in the Pac-12. Losses sting, but the spoils of victory are all the more sweet because of the journey.

For now, I will be writing a Hot Cougar Action post on the weekend and can hopefully find other ways to contribute in the future. I have wanted to try my hand at writing on college sports for awhile, but didn't feel I had the time and didn't know where to start. I was thrilled when Jeff extended this opportunity to me. And he handled the ‘time objection' pretty easily by reminding me how much time I spend on CougCenter anyways. Touché.