WSU Welcomes Back One of Their Own
It's been a heck of a year for the Athletic Department at Washington State University. When USC and UCLA announced in 2022 that they were leaving for the Big 10, many observers thought it would be survivable. They still had Oregon and Washington, and could probably lure two other schools in the region to join the PAC, but not necessarily replace the impact of the two California schools.
Then last August the death blow was dealt to the "Conference of Champions". In a span of one week six other schools, including Oregon and Washington, declared their intention to join new conferences. The four remaining schools would soon be two as Stanford and Cal inexplicably joined the Atlantic Coast Conference. Washington State and Oregon State may have been Tom Hanks In "Cast Away", alone on an island.
The Cougs and Beavers announced in December of last year they would enter in to a two year scheduling agreement with the Mountain West Conference for Football and the West Coast Conference for all other sports.Those weren't the only major changes to hit WSU Athletics.
The Hits Kept on Coming for the Cougars
Five months ago, on March 25th, WSU lost their Men's Basketball Coach (their most successful since Tony Bennett) when Kyle Smith bolted to the ACC for the Stanford head coaching job. The very next day their athletic director, Pat Chun, left to take the same position with the hated Washington Huskies. WSU President Kirk Schulz was less than happy about Chun's decision.
The most recent loss was in June when the voice of WSU men's football and basketball, Matt Chazanow left the Palouse for the same role with North Carolina State in the ACC. That left WSU another hole to fill. To do so, the looked to a familiar face and a member of the WSU family that was just 8.3 miles away.
Welcome Home Chris King!
WSU Athletic Director Anne McCoy, who assumed that mantle a month ago, announced last Friday that a member of WSU's Murrow College of Communications Class of 2009 was coming back to Pullman to be the next voice of the Cougars. Chris King will take the reigns for the football, men's basketball, and baseball broadcasts.
The Marysville native began his broadcasting career not long after graduation doing play-by-play for Boise State women's basketball. Tri-City Dust Devils fans know Chris as he handled their broadcasts for ten seasons from 2012-2021. Before the Dust Devils, Chris was the voice of the Wenatchee AppleSox. He would move a little further west in Idaho, to Moscow, as he took over men's basketball at the University of Idaho in 2013 and then added football duties in 2021.
In a statement announcing his hiring Chris said about coming home to WSU:
This opportunity means the world to me, As a proud WSU and Murrow graduate who grew up listening to Bob Robertson, this is an absolute dream come true...The pride and passion of Cougs is truly second to none, and I can't wait to share so many thrilling moments to come for WSU athletics. Go Cougs!
Chris is a two time recipient of Idaho Sports Broadcaster of the year, given by the the National Sports Media Association, for his work at Idaho. Chris will be behind the mic in crimson and gray for the first time August 31st at the Cougars take on the Portland State Vikings.