Jake Dickert reacts to Pac-12 getting rid of divisions

Ahead of the 2022 season, the Pac-12 decided to get rid of divisions and instead have the two teams with the two best conference records play in the Pac-12 Championship Game. That led to two former Pac-12 South schools playing for the conference championship.

As Washington State head coach Jake Dickert explained, this does make things harder, but the Cougars aren’t going to back away from competition.

“Competition is one of our four core values of our program,” Jake Dickert said. “From a little kid when you compete on, when you win, you go to the dance. You go to the prize. Probably in our little sphere, we used to have to be the best of six teams to make the championship game. I understand that. In the broad spectrum of college football, teaching our guys about life and competition, you win, this is what you get.”

2022 was Dickert’s first full season with Washington State. He led the Cougars through the second half of the 2021 season, replacing Nick Rolovich. Since then, he’s worked to imprint his culture on the program.

“We have side competitions of kickball, dodgeball. We call it The Race for the Roses. We have a lot of team competitions, and the victor gets the spoils. It replicates life. You don’t get to be the CEO of a corporation just because you’re one of six. You’re one of the best of the best. It’s a philosophy that my dad taught me. He never let me win ever until I was about 16 years old, I was finally good enough to beat him,” Dickert said.

“It’s one of those things that competition is the core of life. I’m really proud to say the Pac-12 went to the right format.”

Jake Dickert led Washington State to a 7-6 record in 2022, which was good for a seventh-place finish in the Pac-12. All six teams ahead of the Cougars finished ranked. So, it’s not going to be easy to make it to the Pac-12 Championship, but Washington State isn’t going to back down from the chance to compete.

Jake Dickert is excited about changes at Washington State

Along with college football as a whole changing, things are changing at Washington State as the Cougars look to keep up. These are changes that Jake Dickert is excited about.

“Well, I think I alluded to it a little bit in the opener. Change equals growth. College football is changing at an incredibly rapid rate. The biggest thing is we have the greatest game on the planet. I believe that. We’re different than the NFL. We’re unique. We’re high-tempo, fast-paced. Sometimes I watch Sundays and I fall asleep at the pace, what’s going on,” Dickert said.

“I think there’s a lot of things. We got to stay above the curve at Washington State. I’m excited in September, we’re opening up a brand-new indoor practice facility, state-of-the-art Taylor Sports Complex, a few feet away from our current Cougar Football Complex. In January we’re opening up what we’re calling the Champions Center. It’s going to house our academic resources. It’s going to be a state-of-the-art place where our guys can go learn. Part of that is player development, but also half of it, two-pronged, house our mental health resources. That’s a hundred feet from our dorms.”