The phrase “home sweet home” is starting to take on a whole new meaning for a Washington State University football team that has now lost three consecutive Seattle games.

WSU’s students and football team headed back to Pullman again following the Cougars’ devastating 55-17 loss to Stanford at CenturyLink Field, and the question on many fans’ minds now is, “How do we keep the Cougars in Pullman?” Home games should not be played away from home.

The rationale for playing a football game in Seattle each year seems justified. Some common arguments for the game are it’s a money maker, a chance for alumni on the west side to reconnect with their university and a good opportunity for WSU to recruit future athletes and boosters.

All of these aspects Cougars love and should be excited about, but at what cost? Losing games and losing the pageantry that is college football isn’t worth the lack of pay-offs from the Seattle game each year.

Forget about the fan base in Western Washington for a moment and focus on what seems to drive both professional and collegiate athletics in today’s world: money.

If WSU elects to discontinue their annual match up with a conference foe in Seattle, some will undoubtedly offer up the argument that the university will lose money. A few years ago, I might’ve understood this argument, but new circumstances in the Pac-12 and on the Palouse make me believe that money shouldn’t be a big factor.

When Martin Stadium’s press box wasn’t much bigger than a Nike shoebox, the Seattle game offered an opportunity for the national media to cover a WSU football game.

Now, the Cougars’ press box ranks up with the top in the nation, after an estimated $80 million renovation that finished in 2012. Martin Stadium is now fully equipped to cover nationally televised games on ESPN and ABC’s family of networks.

Also relatively new to Cougar fans is the addition of the Pac-12 Network. The all-Pac-12 TV channel has opened up tremendous revenue streams for every university in the conference. Money from exclusive TV broadcasting contracts has helped fund stadium additions across the West Coast and has even reaped benefits in Pullman by allowing WSU to lure a high-profile coach to Pullman, Mike Leach.

Without the Pac-12’s media outlet, it is safe to say the Cougars couldn’t afford to pay Leach’s contract or construct their proposed $65 million west end zone football operations building.

Before Pac-12 networks, I could have believed we needed revenue from the Seattle game. Now, it isn’t as obvious.

Next, look at the fan base. WSU has a scheduled sell-out in two weeks in Pullman when the Oregon State Beavers come from Corvallis to face off with the Cougars on ESPN’s family of networks.

Total ticket sales in Seattle this weekend sat just above 40,000 as was announced during the first half of WSU’s standoff with Stanford. The crowd was also smaller than announced due to terrible weather conditions that undoubtedly led some Cougar fans to stay home.

Martin Stadium can accommodate upwards of 30,000 football fans each week. In that, a substantial amount of the stadium’s seating houses the ZZU CRU, one of the largest student sections in the Pac-12.

The difference between 40,000 fans spread out throughout a mammoth NFL stadium and 30,000 fans packed like sardines in an authentic college atmosphere is noticeable. 

Yes, this Seattle game is enjoyable for Cougars on the west side of the state, but the fan base is committed no matter where the team plays.

In the past, Cougar fans have spent Thanksgiving away from home just to attend the Apple Cup, they have driven up to 10 hours to watch football games at Martin Stadium and they still take the Ol’ Crimson Flag to the set of ESPN’s College Gameday or wake up to see it fly on TV each weekend.

However, the Cougars need to stop taking their biggest conference games away from home. The athletic department is creating more challenges and obstacles for Leach when they take away home field advantage.

Next year, WSU expects to play Rutgers in Seattle before Labor Day on either a Thursday or Friday. It’s still another “road” game for the Cougars, but WSU’s athletic department made the right decision bringing non-conference games back to Seattle. It’s not Pullman, but at least Cougar fans can rest easy knowing that prime Pac-12 teams like Oregon will have to do their best to deal with the Cougs and crowd in Martin Stadium.