PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State Athletics capped a nearly year-long process Wednesday by unveiling UNLEASH, a strategic plan for advancing the future of Cougar Athletics.
 
"Our vision with this plan is to achieve what was once defined as impossible and do so by working collaboratively within our department and throughout our campuses more than ever before" said WSU Director of Athletics Pat Chun.
 
UNLEASH is a comprehensive approach by WSU Athletics to take the positive momentum generated in recent years and provide an aggressive plan for sustained excellence into the future. Over the past year, three themes emerged that are the basis for this approach:

• The passion and pride of Coug nation takes a backseat to no one
• Service to our student-athletes, campus and community is what drives our staff
• Teamwork is the key to unlocking our potential

 
Building upon these themes, the process included collaboration with athletic department staff, student-athletes, alumni, as well as faculty and community members. From that came "a big, hairy audacious goal" of securing a top-10 percent finish in the Learfield IMG College Division I Directors' Cup standings, which reflects broad-based success across multiple athletic programs.
 
Six goal areas were identified to achieve this:

• Competitive Excellence
• Student-Athlete Experience
• "Once A Coug, Always A Coug"
• Championship Culture
• Revenue Maximization
• Resource Stewardship

 
At the core of these goals is a commitment to teamwork based on passion, resiliency, integrity, diversity & inclusion, and excellence. They are the basis for the department's mission, which is to provide a transformational student-athlete experience, while elevating Washington State University through competitive excellence, campus collaboration and community engagement.
 
"We realize the world of collegiate athletics is constantly evolving and having a plan that promotes strategic thinking, adaptability and commitment to goals will ensure our relevance over time," said Chun.

The UNLEASH website can be found at wsucougars.com/UNLEASH.