As you can probably remember, the 2020 season didn’t exactly go as planned for any of WSU’s traditional fall sports. Cougar football only ended up playing four of their seven scheduled games, picking up one win. WSU volleyball didn’t play until the spring and had seven games called off due to COVID-19 issues before losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Cougar soccer was also pushed back into the spring, and they were also hit hard by the virus, with four games wiped out in the middle of their schedule.

The good news is that all of the seniors from those teams (and every team that took the field in the 2020-21 season) will have a chance to continue their WSU career during this upcoming season. The bad news is that WSU and every other school in the country is going to have to find a way to pay for those extra scholarships.

Washington State came up with a solution for that problem. The athletic department is holding a virtual event with all of the proceeds going to fund scholarships for “super seniors.” The department is calling the event ‘Kickoff with the Cougs’ and announced the details earlier this week.

The inaugural ‘Kickoff with the Cougs’ virtual event will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 26. According to the school, the event will feature WSU administrators, coaches and student-athletes from all of WSU’s programs including Director of Athletics Pat Chun and Head Football Coach Nick Rolovich. In addition to “exclusive insight into what’s happening throughout the athletic department” the event will also highlight the “super senior” atudent-athletes who are returning for an extra year at WSU.

As is the case with many fundraisers, an invitation to the virtual event is going to cost you. A general ticket will admit two people and costs $50. They’re also offering bundle packages with bonuses that will be shipped to you, including a wine bundle and a meal kit bundle.

There will also be an auction on the same night. You can access the auction for free, but an auction ticket will not give you access to view the event.

It’s probably also important to note that while the Cougar Athletic Fund is involved in planning the event, ticket purchases don’t count toward CAF giving levels or season ticket donations.

You can find more information and purchase tickets for ‘Kickoff with the Cougs’ here..

Links

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