HCA: Dennis Erickson named to College Football Hall of Fame

Dennis Erickson wasn’t at Washington State for very long but the former Cougar coach has nothing but great things to say about his time spent in the rolling hills of the Palouse. On Monday it was announced that the 71-year-old coach will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame for the 2019 class.

Erickson was with the Cougars for just two years from 1987-88 and led the Cougars to a 3-7-1 record followed by a 9-3 record before his departure for Miami. This was not his first head coaching job on the Palouse however as he spent four seasons with the Idaho Vandals from 1982-85. He would later return to Idaho in 2006 for a season before heading to Arizona State where he spent 5 seasons.

While most of his success comes from his tenure at Miami where he went 63-9 and won two National Titles in six seasons, there are a few things that Washington State can thank him for. When Erickson was a junior in high school he beat out the guy who would follow him in Pullman, Mike Price, for the starting quarterback job. Years later, Price would be recommended to become the next head coach for the Cougars by his friend and former high school teammate. Price would utilize much of the talent and schemes that Erickson put in place and lead the Cougars to an 83-78 overall record including two Rose Bowl appearances.

Erickson will join William Dietz, Forest Evashevski, and Orin Hollingberry and four players as the only Cougars to be in the Hall of Fame.

He will be officially inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on December 10, 2019 at the NFF Awards Dinner in New York City. Erickson joins 13 players and one other coach to be inducted in the 2019 class.

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Football:

Former Washington State, Idaho coach Dennis Erickson calls Palouse ‘my first love’ on day of Hall of Fame induction | The Spokesman-Review
Erickson, who posted a 179-96-1 records in his 23 years as a college head coach, was one of 15 members inducted Monday to the 2019 College Football Hall of Fame Class by the National Football Foundation.

Washington State finishes season No. 10 in Associated Press Top 25 poll, Washington comes in at No. 13 | The Spokesman-Review
Hours after Clemson beat Alabama in the national championship, the Cougars, who closed out the season with a 28-26 win over Iowa State in the Alamo Bowl, moved up two spots and checked in at No. 10 in the final Top 25 rankings.

Thank you, Mississippi Mustache – The Daily Evergreen
At the start of the season, WSU football was expected to finish fifth in the Pac-12 North in the preseason media poll. Instead, they finished second in the division, ranked as high as No. 8 and won a school record 11 games after a 28-26 victory against No. 24 Iowa State in the Valero Alamo...

Washington State lands Top 10 in the final AP Poll – Cougar Sports Network
The season of greatness just got a little greater. With the conclusion of the College Football season, the Associated Press released their final poll of the season and Washington State found themselves in the postseason top ten for the first time since 2003. It's also the first time since then the Cougars found themselves in…

Dennis Erickson Named to College Football Hall of Fame - Washington State University Athletics
Erickson is the eighth Cougar named to the College Hall of Fame.

ESPN's college football Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2019
Clemson is the new king, but Alabama will be back, along with Georgia, Ohio State and Notre Dame, while a couple of teams from Texas elbow their way into the top 10.

Basketball:

Cougars Remain on Road for Fifth-Straight Game - Washington State University Athletics
WSU heads to Boulder to take on Colorado, Thursday, Jan. 10 at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT.

Pac-12 Men’s basketball power rankings – The Daily Evergreen
Here’s how the conference shakes out after the first weekend of conference play. Arizona State (10-4, 1-1) ASU is the class of the Pac. Punctuated with an 80-76 win over then top-ranked Kansas, the Sun Devils are the best squad in the conference when they play up to their potential. Arizona (11-4, 2-0) Arizona has...