This has not been an easy decade for WSU, which has been fighting a decrease in system-wide enrollment to little avail amidst falling national rankings, a mass exodus within WSU leadership and an uphill battle to keep Cougar Football on life support.
Enrollment has been down for five years straight since fall 2017, with the decline in enrollment growing for four consecutive years between 2017 and 2022, according to the latest enrollment briefings.
Between fall 2017 and fall 2018, enrollment grew but by a smaller margin than previous years. In 2017, enrollment had increased by 2.8%, but by fall 2018, enrollment growth decreased by 1.4% to a growth of only 0.4%.
After 2018, enrollment growth ceased entirely and began on its downward trajectory. Between 2019 and 2022, enrollment decreased by another 1.4%.
The enrollment shrinkage continued in the following years. Between 2020 and 2021, enrollment decreased by 4.2%. Between 2021 and 2022, enrollment decreased by 7.7%.
In the following year, the rate of decline slowed but persisted nonetheless. Between 2022 and 2023, enrollment decreased by 3.8%.
During the Board of Regents meeting on Sept. 20, regents heard from Regent Picha who presented the Academic and Student Affairs Committee report. According to the report, while first-year student enrollment was up by 2.5%, overall enrollment between fall 2023 and fall 2024 was down by 3%.
Enrollment is not the only issue plaguing the university. National rankings have also continued to slip.
According to an earlier Daily Evergreen article, WSU fell 38 spots from #140 to #178 among national universities and from #71 to #96 among public universities since 2016.
Since then, WSU’s rankings have continued to fall. According to US News & World Report, WSU’s 2025 ranking among national universities has slipped another 11 spots to #189. WSU’s public university rankings also slipped, going from #96 to #103.
WSU’s declining enrollment and falling rankings continues as those in top leadership positions within the administration are choosing to leave, according to The Daily Evergreen. Notable examples include President Schulz and former Chancellor Elizabeth Chilton.
With all of that in mind, could Cougar Football be the answer to WSU’s problems?
An open letter by @CougSutra to the WSU Board of Regents seems to think so. The letter, published on 247Sports, has asked the Board to restore the WSU Athletic Department’s budget to the 2023-24 budget of $85 million.
The Board had reduced the $85 million budget to its current $74 million budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year. The Board is now considering the budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Washington State started the season on a high note with a 24-19 Apple Cup win over Washington. Washington State also briefly peaked at No. 18 in the AP Top 25 poll before ultimately falling out after consecutive losses to New Mexico, Oregon State and Wyoming.
In the aftermath of Washington State’s loss to Wyoming, ending the season for the Cougars at 8-4, WSU lost Offensive Coordinator Ben Arbuckle and parted ways with Defensive Coordinator Jeff Schmedding on the same day.
Back in November, President Schulz announced the formation of a PR campaign tasked with educating WSU constituencies on the importance of WSU athletics to the entire WSU system, according to President Schulz on 247Sports. With the right leadership and funding for WSU Athletics, Washington State could greatly benefit.
“If we look at what we used to get from the old PAC-12, it was roughly mid-30s [millions per year],” Schulz said. “We’ll know more in the next several months but let’s as a placeholder say it’s $15 million per year from the conference on the new media rights package.”
More than 90% of the annual department budget for WSU Athletics comes from media rights revenue, ticket sales, corporate partnerships and fundraising, according to 247Sports. That means the vast majority of WSU Athletics’ budget is self-sustaining.
“So that’s roughly a $20-25 million dollars gap depending on where the numbers end up,” Schulz said.
The recent implosion of the PAC-12 has left Washington State unusually vulnerable. The question that remains is how much added value to the WSU system as a whole does WSU Athletics add?
Cougar Football is a source of Cougar pride and spirit throughout Washington. With campuses throughout the state, one thing that sets WAZZU apart from UW is our state-wide reach.
Cougar Football not only brings revenue into the university, but also instills Cougar pride in potential donors and prospective students. Increasing the reach of Cougar pride may just be the key WAZZU needs to turn enrollment and rankings around.
All eyes should now be on Coach Dickert. Can he help lead Cougar Football, and the university, out of our predicament?
