Jake Dickert excited about changes at Washington State, across college football

Washington State head coach Jake Dickert is excited both on and off the field for the Cougars as he enters his second full season as the team’s head coach.

At Pac-12 Media Days, Dickert was asked about what changes the program has made that will help take it to a higher level. Which he prefaced by expressing his overall excitement for the college football landscape at large before talking about his program specifically.

“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 admitted.

But for excited as Dickert is about college football as a whole, he’s even more excited about what’s going on in Pullman.

Thanks to a commitment from Washington State alums Scott and Lisa Taylor and Ken and Sue Christianson of up to $6 million, the Cougars’ football program has broken ground on two major new complexes that they’ll unveil in the foreseeable future.

“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,” Dickert said. “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.”

It sounds like in regards to new facilities, the Cougars have all their bases covered, something that Dickert has taken pride in.

“I’m proud of Washington State in being at the forefront of what we’re trying to do not only physically for our student-athletes but mentally as well. We got new practice turf. There’s a lot of things that we’re doing institutionally to show who we are,” Dickert said.

Dickert took over the reins of the program in October of 2021 as the team’s active head coach following the firing of Nick Rolovich, leading the team to a 3-1 conference record and a bowl appearance to end the season. He followed that with a 7-6 finish last year earning himself a contract extension that will make him the Cougars’ head coach until the 2027 season, as he looks forward to a bright future with the program moving forward.

“I think there’s a misnomer out there that Washington State, just because we’re in the Palouse and we got a bunch of tractors and combines in a small town, that we’re some side-bar to the Pac-12,” Dickert said. “The 10 teams that are going forward, Washington State I think is fourth in TV viewership. There’s Cougs all over this country that see that flag waving on College GameDay that know exactly what it’s like to be a Coug. Our passion, donor base, what we want to do going forward is going to keep us where we want to be not only in the Pac-12 but nationally, as well.”