Pullman is not the busiest town. I think we can all accept that to be true, regardless of our love for it. This means that date options can be somewhat limited, especially for those without reliable means of transport into Moscow or Spokane.

Fortunately, WSU has a number of Division I sports programs that can offer good date opportunities. Here I will be providing my personal rank of some of our more spectator-oriented DI sports offerings, as well as the rankings provided by a poll I put out to the Class of 2024 Snapchat story. 

5. Baseball (3. Snapchat Poll)

I do not think this one is a surprise to most. I love baseball, and I can think of very few better ways to spend my day than going to a game, but the truth is that a lot of people find it boring. Even those who enjoy the sport often do not have the endurance to watch nine innings of baseball. 

When I told this ranking to a friend of mine, the idea of it being a rather idle sport was brought up as a pro. Baseball has a lot of dead time where conversations could happen between two daters. The cons still outweigh this pro, earning it the last spot on my list, but I still think it has a place as a more niche spring date idea.

4. Volleyball (5. Snapchat Poll)

I love volleyball; it is a lot of fun. If I do not open with that, my sister will be mad at me. My mindset is that the ideal sports date has time to talk but also can easily be understood and digested by the general population. 

Volleyball and soccer are both pretty good at both of these. Ultimately they are nearly interchangeable in my personal rankings, but volleyball loses out a little bit because I feel that the soccer field is a slightly better venue than Bohler.  I think it could easily rank above soccer on someone else’s list because it is one of the easiest sports to understand and get excited about.

3. Soccer (4. Snapchat Poll)

I feel similarly to soccer as I do to baseball. Personally, I have grown to love soccer in the last couple of years, but I understand that it is similarly tough to watch for many. However, it is hard for soccer to be boring even when you cannot understand what is going on. A Cougar soccer game will certainly have the crowd on its feet. 

It will also have the kinds of slower moments that we said helped out baseball. Soccer is probably the best of these for a first date for this reason. The sports later down on the list will have lots more lively play, which works well for a couple who already know and are comfortable with each other but can make for a tough first or second date between unfamiliar companions.

2. Basketball (2. Snapchat Poll)

Basketball almost has it all. It is the most constantly exciting sport on this list, as play stops much less often than in the others and it is easy for most to understand. While it loses out a bit on the conversation front, the games are not super long. Which means that they can be part of a date instead of the whole thing. 

Also, it has the best concessions of the sports, which is an underrated aspect of the experience. I think basketball is pretty clearly better than the three that are ranked lower, but it is also pretty clearly below the sport that is above it. This is the placement I am most certain in besides the top spot.

1. Football (1. Snapchat Poll)

It is true that football lacks the simplicity of basketball and volleyball, but being part of an absolutely bought-in student section is an experience like no other. Football is the most popular sport in America and just about anyone who wants to go to a sports game as a date in the first place would want to go to a football game. There are those who do not enjoy football, certainly, but that demographic would not likely prefer going to any sporting event as a date anyway.

A common criticism of football is the constant stoppage, but as we have previously established here that is actually a pro in terms of dating. Football has lots of time to converse and they even do you the courtesy of holding up a big clock to tell you how long you can be talking before it will get loud again. There is just no beating football. It was always meant to take this top spot.

This list has been determined through extensive study and experience and as previously mentioned it is completely correct in every way. This Valentine’s Day will, unfortunately, have no Cougar sports taking place and all but basketball and baseball are over for the year anyways. However, feel free to test this advice at 7:30 p.m. Saturday before Valentine’s as Cougar men’s basketball will be facing University of Washington in the first game of the Apple Cup.