The Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame class class was announced today. Including in the class is the 1997 Rose Bowl team. In 2007, to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the Cougars' historic 1998 Rose Bowl run, WSUCougars.com ran a feature series recounting the season, and the individuals responsible for ending the program's 67-year Rose Bowl drought.

Relive The Roses Here

Yesterday, past Cougar football great Leon Bender was honored when the Santee (Calif.) City Council proclaimed May 30, 2013 as May 30, 2013 as Leon Bender Day.

Bender was a star player on the Cougars' 1997 Pac-10 Championship team and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft. But on May 30, 1998, just five weeks after the NFL Draft, Bender passed away from complications stemming from an epileptic seizure suffered while in Georgia preparing for the Raiders' mini-camp.

Read about Bender in this 2007 story as part of the 2007 story as part of the "Relive The Roses" series looking back on the Cougars' historic run to the 1998 Rose Bowl.

Director of Athletics Bill Moos recently sat down with F.X. McRory's Ken Zeran for an in-depth interview covering a variety of subjects including family, important influences on and off the field, and building success in Cougar Athletics.

Listen to the interview HERE.

Photo Gallery

The Cougar rowing team headed out to the NCAA Championships a day earlier than usual, making a stop in Louisville, Ky., on its way to Indianapolis, Ind. WSU arrived in Louisville at 3 p.m. Monday, May 27 and headed straight to the University of Louisville's boathouse for a workout and practice. The conditions kept the Cougars indoor, but they were able to bike, erg and use the Cardinals' indoor rowing tank. That night the team stayed at 21c, a hotel and art museum in one. The next morning the team got up, had breakfast and headed back to the Louisville boathouse for a row on the Ohio River.

Following the workout, the team packed up, and on its way out of town, made a stop at Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville. Upon arrival, a van was parked outside that had pictures of Mattel games on it and the words 'Take a Game Break'. The team was approached by Bob Guiney, the host of 'Take a Game Break,' which encourages families to take time to play board games together, rather than play video games and watch movies. Guiney played one of the games with members of the team as a camera man filmed it. The student-athletes were able to get photos taken with the TV host and former star of ABC's 'The Bachelor'.

Once in the museum the team experienced every last bit of horse racing culture in Kentucky, starting with a video, and followed by a walking tour of the grounds and exploration on their own. During the walking tour, the women got to set foot in the grandstands, learn about various 'notable' horses and Triple Crown winners and even see a former Kentucky Derby winner, Mine that Bird, who won in 2009.

Following their time at Churchill Downs, the Cougars trekked up to Indianapolis, Ind., where practice began Wednesday at Eagle Creek Park. The NCAA Championships begin Friday morning and run through Sunday, June 2.

Congratulations to past Cougar men's basketball great Aron Baynes. Baynes' San Antonio Spurs team swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA Western Conference Finals to advance to the NBA Finals. The Spurs will face the winner of the Miami Heat-Indiana Pacers Eastern Conference Finals series.

Baynes posted the below picture of himself with the Western Conference Championship trophy on his Facebook page last night. Keep up with what's happening with the Spurs at their website.

Baynes is just one of the numerous student-athletes at Washington State who have earned the prestigious Gray "W." For more information on the Gray "W" Varsity Club click HERE.

Tough to beat the views at Palouse Ridge Golf Club at the WSU campus. This is a view from the third green after a storm rolled through Friday afternoon.

Go Cougs!

In his latest podcast, Director of Athletics Bill Moos discusses rowing's NCAA berth and Katie Dick's recent accolades, including Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition, Moos looks back on a busy week of Cougar Athletics, including the installation of the Tower Crane for the football operations building construction and the Cougar Athletic Fund Tri-Cities Tailgate event.

Listen to the podcast HERE and on iTunes

The Washington State football teams begins their season in 100 days! The Cougs travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium to take on the Auburn Tigers on Saturday, August 31. Go Cougs! 

Cougar Rowing earned its seventh team selection to the NCAA Rowing Championships, Tuesday. The championships will be held Friday, May 31 through Sunday, June 2 at Eagle Creek Park, Ind.

Senior Katie Dick, a member of the varsity eight boat, has has a busy May. She was named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Sunday and the outstanding senior in the department of philosophy by the College of Arts and Sciences, May 3. Read about Katie's honor and what her plans are post-WSU.

For more information on the NCAA Rowing Championships click HERE

As the below image taken this afternoon by The Cougar Football project webcam shows, the tower crane is in operation for the Football Operations Building construction. The tower crane was installed over the weekend.

The players competing at the NCAA Pullman Regional at Palouse Ridge golf club received a good view of the installation.