Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars are the athletic teams at Washington State University ; the term applies to any of the school ' s varsity team s . Washington State University is a member of the Pacific - 12 Conference , which participates in the NCAA Division I . The athletic program comprises nine women ' s sports : basketball , cross country , golf , rowing , soccer , swimming , tennis , track and field , volleyball ; and six men ' s sports : baseball , basketball , cross country , football , golf , track and field . The school also offers various intramural sports . Varsity athletics . Washington State University is a member of the Pac - 12 athletic conference . The school ' s mascot is Butch T . Cougar and the school ' s colors are crimson and gray . Varsity athletics include men ' s baseball , basketball , cross country , football , golf , and track and field , as well as women ' s basketball , cross country , golf , rowing , soccer , swimming , tennis , track and field , and volleyball . In the past , WSU had varsity programs in boxing , wrestling , and gymnastics . In 1937 , Roy Petragallo and Ed McKinnon won the NCAA boxing championship , WSU ' s first national championship . The men ' s track and field team won the 1977 NCAA Men ' s Indoor Track and Field Championship . Football . During the 2001 - 2003 seasons , the Cougar football teams were distinguished by three ten - win seasons , three top ten poll rankings , and appearances in the Sun Bowl , Rose Bowl and Holiday Bowl . The Cougars shared the Pac - 10 title in 2002 . Paul Wulff , WSU ' s 31st head football coach , was fired on Tuesday , November 29 , 2011 after completing his fourth season with a 9 - 40 overall record . Former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach has been hired to take over the Cougar ' s football program after Wulff ' s departure . Men ' s basketball . In 1917 , the Cougars won their only basketball National Championship . In the late - 1970s when George Raveling was head coach , the Cougars were among the Pac - 10 Conference ' s top teams . Before becoming WSU head coach in 2005 , Tony Bennett spent three seasons at WSU as an assistant to his father , Dick Bennett . In both the 2006 – 2007 and 2007 – 2008 seasons , his Cougar teams had 26 wins each , tying the Washington State school record set by the 1940 – 41 team . Ken Bone was tapped as the Cougars ' head coach on April 6 , 2009 , after the younger Bennett accepted the head coaching position at Virginia . Rivalries . Washington State ' s biggest rival is the University of Washington ( UW ) Huskies . One of the most important athletic contests for both schools is the Apple Cup : the annual game between the Cougars and the University of Washington Huskies and is traditionally held on the third Saturday of November . As the two main public universities in the state , WSU and UW have a geographic rivalry . Strong rivalries also exist between WSU and the other Pac - 12 teams of the Pacific Northwest : the University of Oregon Ducks and Oregon State University Beavers . Competition between the schools in football has been very competitive over the years , as the Cougars hold a 47 - 44 - 3 advantage in the series against OSU and trail UO by a tally of 38 - 42 - 7 . WSU ’ s closest geographic rival is the University of Idaho , another land - grant school only eight miles ( 13 km ) east in Moscow . The Battle of the Palouse , the annual football game , was revived in 1998 for a 10 year run , and is usually held at Martin Stadium in Pullman . The game was not played in 2008 ; WSU has won the last seven games and holds a 70 - 18 - 3 ( . 786 ) advantage in the series . 1915 football season . The Washington State Warriors won the 1916 Rose Bowl , finishing 10 - 0 and outscored its opponents 204 - 10 , was in fact one of three teams that went undefeated that year , the other two being Cornell University ( currently recognized as the 1915 champions ) and the University of Pittsburgh . In 1915 Washington State College was awarded the opportunity to play in the Rose Bowl Game and was set to play Brown University , which had lost only one game , to Harvard University ( who in turn lost to Cornell 10 - 0 ) by a score of 16 - 7 . Washington State beat Brown in the Rose Bowl 14 - 0 . However a 1915 national championship was never awarded until 1935 , when a Princeton University graduate submitted the first national polling of that season . Cornell was awarded the championship twenty years after the 1915 season . Athletic Directors . Individuals who have served as athletic director for the Cougars , according to WSU Sports Information , include : Spirit and traditions . Cougar mascot . The first mascot was a terrier named " Squirt " as someone brought a pet dog to campus . The mascot became the Indians during the decade spanning 1910 - 1919 , known as " Carlisle Connection " . Three football coaches came from the famous Carlisle Indian College in Pennsylvania : Frank Shivley , William " Lone Star " Dietz and Gus Welch . Following the first football game between WSU and California in 1919 , an Oakland cartoonist portrayed the Washington State team as fierce Northwest cougars chasing the defeated Golden Bears . A few days later , on October 28 , WSU students officially designated " Cougars " as their team mascot . In 1927 during the Homecoming football game against the University of Idaho , Washington State Governor Roland H . Hartley presented a cougar cub to the WSU students . The cub was originally to be called " Governor Hartley , " in honor of its donor . The governor gracefully declined and suggested the name " Butch , " in honor of Herbert " Butch " Meeker of Spokane , who was WSU ' s gridiron football star at the time . Governor Clarence D . Martin presented Butch II to the student body in 1938 . Butch III and IV were twin cubs presented by Governor Arthur B . Langlie in January 1942 . Governor Langlie also presented Butch V in 1955 . Butch VI , the last live mascot on campus , died in the summer of 1978 . Governor Albert Rosellini had presented him to WSU in 1964 from Seattle ' s Woodland Park Zoo . Today , the mascot , named Butch T . Cougar , is a student wearing a cougar costume . The student playing the mascot is anonymous ; the student ' s identity is only revealed after the last sporting event of the school year , usually the last home basketball game of the season . Cougar logo . The Cougar logo was developed in July 1936 by art student Randall Johnson ( 1915 – 2007 ) , a graduate of Pullman High , while working as a summer sign painter on campus . Fred Rounds , the head of the buildings and grounds department , suggested to Johnson that Washington State College needed a trademark , and both agreed it needed to be pictoral and include the initials of the school , then WSC . After a few nights , Johnson came up with a design using the letters WSC to form a cougar head , and Rounds promptly took it to the administration for official approval . With the president on sabbatical , the acting president gave the nod and its first use was on the door of a campus truck . Johnson graduated in 1938 and went to work in Spokane , where he spent his career in advertising at the local electric utility . When the school became a university in 1959 , he modified the mouth of the cougar to incorporate the new " U " . Colors . The first school colors were pink and blue , said to be chosen by the first WSU President when he was so in awe of the blue and pink sunsets of the Palouse . Research has not uncovered the exact date when the official colors changed , although Crimson and Gray are thought to have been the colors by 1916 , when the then - WSC " Warriors " won the first annual Rose Bowl . Fight song . Fight , fight , fight for Washington State , Win the victory ! Win the day for Crimson and Gray , Best in the West , we know you ' ll all do your best , So on , on , on , on fight till the end , Honor and glory you must win ! So fight , fight , fight for Washington State , and victory ! W - A - S - H - I - N - G - T - O - N S - T - A - T - E C - O - U - G - S Go Cougs ! ZZU CRU . The ZZU CRU is the official student fan club for WSU Basketball . The $ 10 membership fee gives students an official club t - shirt , discount card that is good for 15 % discounts at various local businesses , exclusive access to prime seating at games , contests , and exclusive member opportunities for player autographs . The lower section of the arena , where the ZZU CRU sits , is called The Cage . ZZU CRU members ' events throughout the year include a Pre - Season Party , ZZU CRU @ the COUG , and a Post - Season Party . Members earn prizes based on the number of basketball games they attend . The attendance prizes for attending women ' s games are the best . At the end of the season , those with the best attendance get better prize packages , including clothing and sports equipment . The top 10 members are entered into a drawing to receive two basketball tickets to the Pac - 12 Tournament . Currently , ZZU CRU has a count of 2 , 750 members for the 2008 - 2009 season . Members can be anyone from students to alumni , to visitors who just would like a shirt . The ZZU CRU was created by a 2005 Alumni during her time as an intern for Cougar Athletic Marketing . Her vision was to bring the deep Cougar Pride of the student body together to create a homecourt advantage in Beasley Coliseum . Victory Bell . In the late 19th century the bell was mounted on the ground in the center of campus to start and dismiss class . Later , it was placed on top of Old College Hall when automatic bells were used , and then on Bryan Hall . The bell was first rung in victory after WSU beat the Washington Huskies by the women ' s basketball team in 1902 . Later , the members of the Intercollegiate Knights rang the bell following a football win . It was subsequently moved to the present College Hall , and now rests on the west side of the Alumni Centre where it is rung by the Student Alumni Ambassadors after each football win . Presence on ESPN " College GameDay " . The popular ESPN " College GameDay " program has , , never been broadcast from WSU . An unofficial , but well organized effort to place the WSU flag in view of the " GameDay " cameras for every broadcast has been acknowledged by the " GameDay " crew , but the show still has no plans to broadcast from Pullman until Washington State is relevant in college football . The Cougar Cannon . After every touchdown and Cougar win , the WSU ROTC Department fires a blank round from a " Pack - 75 " 75mm Towed Howitzer . The concussion from the celebratory blast is seen , heard and felt by everyone in and around Martin Stadium . The cannon is property of the Washington Army National Guard and on loan to the university in support of WSU Athletics and the WSU ROTC Department . The ROTC " Cannon Crew " is composed exclusively of ROTC Cadets who are also members of the Washington Army National Guard . The cannon was first brought to WSU in 1993 and was fired from a balcony atop the Compton Union Building ( CUB ) overlooking Martin Stadium until 2006 . Following the 2006 season , due to the CUB remodel , the cannon was absent from WSU Football . The cannon returned for the 2010 and 2011 seasons and now fires from atop the newly remodeled WSU Library , also overlooking Martin Stadium . The Pack - 75 Howitzer is of WWII vintage where it saw combat service with units of the Washington Army National Guard in both the Phillipeans and Guadal Canal . Electronic Arts , a major video game studio , picked up on the tradition and features a blast from the cannon after Cougar touchdowns ( home games ) in its popular " EA Sports NCAA Football " series .