Hall of Fame
3 stories filed under Hall of Fame on Wazzu. The newest of them: “The 1985 Coug cross country team gets its Hall of Fame moment”, “Cindy Fredrick's Hall of Fame speech is one every Coug should hear”, and “Jim Walden brought the Cougs to a bowl after 50 years: gone at 88”. The 1985 Coug cross country team finally gets to hear its name called in the Hall of Fame, and it's about damn time. Cindy Fredrick stood at that podium and did what too few Hall of Fame speeches do: she made you feel something. The unofficial read for people who left Pullman and stayed Cougs. The list below is every Hall of Fame story on Wazzu, newest first.
The 1985 Coug cross country team gets its Hall of Fame moment
The 1985 Coug cross country team finally gets to hear its name called in the Hall of Fame, and it's about damn time. These were the runners who tore through the fall of '85 with something to prove, and they did it without a lot of noise. That's how a lot of great Pullman teams work, they just show up, grind, and let the results speak. This group ran well enough to earn a spot among the best in WSU history, and now the Hall of Fame makes it official. We've been digging into these older teams lately, and there's a pattern: the ones who didn't get the spotlight at the time tend to have the best stories. If you missed our piece on the 1981 Cougs getting their Hall of Fame speech, that one hits the same note. Different sport, same feeling of overdue respect. These recognitions matter because they connect the current Cougs to the ones who built the foundation on cold mornings in the Palouse. The cross country team from '85 deserves this moment. Not because they were loud, but because they were relentless. That's a Coug trait you can't fake. Go Cougs.
Cindy Fredrick's Hall of Fame speech is one every Coug should hear
Cindy Fredrick stood at that podium and did what too few Hall of Fame speeches do: she made you feel something. Not the polished, thank-everyone-by-name kind of thing. She talked about the work. The grind. The players who showed up when nobody was watching. For anyone who has ever worn the crimson, it lands like a punch to the chest, the good kind. This isn't a speech you stream for background noise. It is one you sit down for. Fredrick built something real in Pullman, and hearing her tell it reminds you why Cougar sports matter beyond the scoreboard. She coached through the hard years. She won when it counted. And she did it with a kind of grit that doesn't make the highlight reels. If you want the full picture of where this program has been and where it is going, read our breakdown of how Cougar Soccer bounced back after the Texas State loss. Coach Citowicki laid out what is next, and it pairs well with hearing Fredrick's foundation for it all. Go Cougs.
Jim Walden brought the Cougs to a bowl after 50 years: gone at 88
Jim Walden walked into Pullman in 1978 and told a program that hadn't seen a bowl game since 1931 to get ready. He delivered. The 1981 Holiday Bowl ended a 50-year drought, and he did it with a style that made him unforgettable long after the final whistle. Walden died Thursday in Coeur d'Alene at 88, and if you're a Coug of a certain age, you can probably still hear his voice, first from the sideline, then from the broadcast booth next to Bob Robertson for 11 seasons. He went 44-52-4 at WSU, which doesn't sound like much until you remember what he was working with. Two Pac-10 Coach of the Year awards. Apple Cup wins in 1982, 1983, and 1985, including a 21-20 snow game in Seattle where the Huskies were heavy favorites and Don James called himself a "2,000-word underdog" just to get a jab in. Walden coached Jack Thompson and Mark Rypien, Rueben Mayes and Keith Millard. He coached the kind of players who made Pullman matter. He left for Iowa State, came back to the Palouse to call games, and never stopped being a Coug. The athletic department called him a "great Coug who deeply loved Washington State." That's the truth. If you want to know what one coach can mean to a place that doesn't get many second chances, start with Jim Walden. Go Cougs.