Hall of Fame
Few records stand the test of time and those that do and those who set them are to be cherished. Such is the case with Washington State's Mike Levenseller. As a wide receiver Levenseller set records during his playing days that stood for many years. A product of Tacoma's Curtis High, Levenseller rocketed into prominence in 1976 when he caught 67 passes for 1,124 yards. No receiver in Cougar history had ever caught more passes in a single season. In addition, his reception yardage of 1,124 yards ranked as the most by any receiver to play in the Pacific-10 Conference (not including bowl games). A year later with 43 receptions he pushed his career total to 121 passes caught for 2,061 yards and 10 touchdowns. Levenseller is the third member of the Cougars' vaunted pitch and catch combo of the mid-1970's to be inducted into the hall of fame. The quarterback in those record-setting days was Jack Thompson (1987 inductee) and his chief targets were Levenseller and Brian Kelly (1989 inductee). Selected to several All-America, All-West Coast and All-Pac-8 Conference teams following the 1976 and 1977 seasons, Levenseller went on to play in the 1978 Challenge Bowl and Hula Bowl all-star games. Drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round of the 1978 National Football League draft, Levenseller spent eight years in the NFL and Canadian Football League, then turned to coaching. During his CFL coaching tenure, Levenseller tutored receivers for the British Columbia Lions and Toronto Argonauts, before returning to his alma mater as wide receiver coach in 1992.
