HCA: Nationally renowed sports economist coming to WSU + Kyle Smith Links

One of the biggest topics when it comes to WSU athletics over the last couple years has been the budget deficit and how to manage it. Those who are hoping to find out more about the current situation should not miss today’s program at noon in Bryan Hall. Athletic Director Pat Chun will join famous sports economist Andrew Zimbalist and Chair of WSU Athletics Council Nancy Swanger for Pizza and Politics: Financing athletics at WSU Who’s paying for it? presented by The Foley Institute. This will be a conversation about the challenges of financing college athletics.

Zimbalist will also host a lecture at 4:30 in CUB auditorium The NCAA money race: Can it be stopped?. This will be a general conversation about financing college sports. Zimbalist will look at if coaching salaries and imbalances between conference television contracts make this a sustainable model.

Professor Zimbalist earned a master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard. He has also written 28 books on sports economics including a couple on college athletics. He frequently appears on NPR and other media programs to discuss the business of sports.

Both events are free to the public and are generally put onto Youtube as well. The Foley Institute is a non-partisan public policy institute that brings world class speakers to their public events in Pullman.

Basketball

What They're Saying: Kyle Smith to WSU an outside-the-box hire
"Kyle Smith's analytical approach is so necessary at a school like Washington State."

Grip on Sports: Washington State seems to have filled this week's quiet time by filling its basketball vacancy | The Spokesman-Review
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Studying physics was never my strong suit, but I am sure of one of (C.M.) Newton’s Laws. Like dogs and nature, sports abhors a vacuum. Read on.

John Blanchette: Washington State’s hiring of Kyle Smith suggests determination more than desperation | The Spokesman-Review
If you look at the history – the raw numbers of history, at least – the easy conclusion to lunge at is that Washington State mixed some unconventional thinking in its search for a new basketball coach with a dash of desperation.

Washington State tabs Kyle Smith to restore long-dormant basketball program | The Spokesman-Review
One day after initial reports surfaced linking Kyle Smith to Washington State’s vacant men’s basketball job, the two sides have agreed to a longterm contract to make Smith the Cougars’ 19th coach.

WSU hires Kyle Smith: Reaction to the Cougars' move
The school wasted no time firing Ernie Kent or hiring Smith who executed impressive turnarounds at Columbia and USF.