Jon Haarlow is now the 16th Athletic Director in Washington State University’s history. WSU President Betsy Cantwell handed Haarlow a WSU football and a No. 16 jersey for their photo-op. Haarlow opened up his speech, highlighting that the jersey should say Leaf or Minshew, two of WSU’s best quarterbacks ever.

Throughout the presser, Haarlow’s message was clear. 

“I want to make the experience for both students and our student-athletes as great as possible,” he said.

Additionally, he wants to maintain WSU’s reputation as a national brand, which begins with hiring the right coaches like Kirby Moore. Winning is the first step and success follows.

Cantwell mentioned how Haarlow’s knowledge of the new Pac-12 and what WSU has to do to survive is what made him the right man for the job. WSU is heading into a new direction. While the history is never forgotten, with a new conference comes a “clean slate,” as Haarlow put it.

While the new Pac-12 has less name value, neither Cantwell nor Haarlow sees a reason why it matters. Cantwell highlighted how winning is all WSU needs to do and how teams like Texas State are being “slept on” by people. Haarlow believes Cougs should be coming to the games, no matter the opponent, to support the Cougs rather than who their opponent is.

WSU’s last Athletic Director, Anne McCoy, was also the interim before being promoted. She was then relieved of her duties. Haarlow was asked why fans should expect something different this time.

“She is a mentor of mine and did a tremendous job, but I think right now is different,” Haarlow said. “Changing the industry. We are adding a revenue office, and I believe our team is ready for it right now.”