WSU football success leads to more revenue

Good morning, Cougar fans. We're now less than a week away from seeing our Cougars back on the field, as they will face the Miami Hurricanes next Saturday in El Paso. Unfortunately, as we are all aware, not many WSU fans will be making the trip to Southwest Texas, as the date and time of the game make it very difficult. Despite the difficulty of getting to the game, the team's success has been a financial boon.

As intrepid reporter Jacob Thorpe writes, WSU fans have reacted to the team's best season in over a decade by purchasing more Cougar gear and, most importantly, enrolling in the Cougar Athletic Fund (You can do so here!). Most of us are aware of the, let's say, reticence of Cougar fans when it comes to donating money to the cause, but according to Bill Moos, more people are jumping aboard.

WSU athletic director Bill Moos says that the athletic department’s fundraising arm, the Cougar Athletic Fund, has grown by more than 1,000 members in the last three months alone, giving it more than 7,000 total members.

"I think we’re doing a very good job of striking while the iron’s hot," Moos said.

While it is very encouraging that CAF membership has swelled that much in recent months, the guess here is that the donation level of many new members isn't on the high end. And as we are well aware, securing and maintaining the financial commitment of upper-echelon donors is a big deal when it comes to funding scholarships and building infrastructure, such as an indoor practice facility and baseball clubhouse.

In addition to donations, I'm willing to guess that Bill Moos and his staff are working pretty hard to sell the naming rights to Martin Stadium. I'm all for it, especially if it leads to the facilities we need to maintain our place in the college athletics arms race, but I also understand that some of you would not be in favor of it. Still, those big, shiny buildings won't pay for themselves, and schools like WSU, whose athletic department has been operating in the red for some time now, need to explore every option when it comes to revenue streams.

"We also are exploring some other avenues with our partners from IMG in regards to some corporate-naming opportunities that would provide a hugely significant commitment to our indoor practice facilities," Moos said.

Heck, I'd buy the naming rights to the stadium AND pay for the indoor practice facility if I somehow fell into millions of dollars in the near future. On the other hand, I'm not sure if Bill Moos and WSU leadership would go for "If You Ain't Spectre, You Ain't S**t" Field at Martin Stadium. Though, as we all know, every man has a price. So if I ever win the Power Ball, Mr. Moos should probably expect a phone call. Go Cougs.

Football

WSU lineman Joe Dahl should return for Sun Bowl after frustrating injury - Spokesman.com - Dec. 19, 2015
Am I the only person who finds it very odd that WSU practice and injury updates seem to have taken a 180 degree turn since the end of the regular season?

WSU Cougars football hopes to mirror last Sun Bowl team | The Seattle Times
It’s not lost on Mike Price that the last time the Cougars played in the Sun Bowl, they beat Purdue 33-27 and set the stage for the memorable 2002 Rose Bowl season, when WSU won 10 games.

Pac-12 football: Picks for the bowl season - College Hotline
Luke Falk is expected to play, so we expect to see the same WSU team that beat UCLA and took Stanford to the wire. And that team is better than Miami. Much better.

Top Pac-12 nonconference games of 2016
Always a tough place to play, a win in Boise has the potential to make the WSU-Oregon game three weeks later a national game of the week candidate.

Early look at 2016 Heisman race: Who follows Derrick Henry?
Mata'afa didn't even start for the Cougars in 2015 and still tied for the team lead with six sacks. Does a guy who plays defensive line in Pullman, Wash., have a legitimate shot at the Heisman? Probably not. But who wouldn't love to see a lineman (and an All-Name Team member) take home the award?

Beer

Craft Beer, Mergers in 2015 - Fortune
I'll admit I was pretty surprised to see companies like Ballast Point and Lagunitas take part in the corporate sales. Gotta be tough to resist when the word "billion" comes into play.

Non-Sports

Scott Weiland's Family: 'Don't Glorify This Tragedy' | Rolling Stone
The last paragraph of this piece is very powerful, and very poignant.