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Jim Sterk

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Chat live with WSU Director of Athletics Jim Sterk about the upcoming 2009-10 season.

Moderator: Good morning Cougar fans and thank you for visiting wsucougars.com and today's online chat with WSU Director of Athletics Jim Sterk. Before we begin, just a reminder of tomorrow's chat with Football Head Coach Paul Wulff at noon. You can submit questions for Coach Wulff and follow the chat by clicking HERE

Moderator: Jim, thank you for taking the time to join us this morning.

Jim Sterk: Thank you. I hope you are all having a great summer. It's a wonderful time to be in the Palouse.

Moderator: Okay, let's get to some questions.

Bruce, Spokane: When will WSU roll out a media campaign support coug football and the phase III stadium build. It's time!

Jim Sterk: Bruce, thank you for your question. This past weekend we posted a special online edition of Butch's Beat outlining how you can help support not only the football program but the entire Athletic Department. I would like to direct you to a message from me in that issue, which you can read by clicking HERE. Regarding Phase III, since the economic slowdown and recession started last fall the project has been on hold. That does not mean we haven't been working toward developing a plan to move forward as quickly as possible. For the past few months, we have explored everything from federal stimulus funding, state legislature support, Build America Bonds, and tax-exempt bonding. We have also met with our contractor and reviewed current construction pricing. To date, we do not have the donations required to move forward; however, we will continue to seek both donations and funding opportunities to allow us to move forward with this vital project. Once a funding model is secured that allows us a chance to be successful we will release a public campaign encouraging all levels of donations and seating purchases. The challenge is having enough support in place so that, once going public, the campaign will be successful.

Al, Fort Collins, CO: Jim, I'm glad to see the ND game in San Antonio, and will be there. will this game help us get some national attention on the Cougs?

Jim Sterk: Al, thank you for making your way to San Antonio to support the Cougs! You may not know this is the first of many neutral-site games that Notre Dame is scheduling in the future. This was a compromise with my good friend and previous Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White. After our initial game with Notre Dame in 2003, Kevin swore never to play WSU in football again after they squeaked out an overtime victory. I continued to push for a game in Seattle; however, there "west coast presence" with games previously schedule with Washington, Stanford, and USC, provided more than enough presence from their perspective in the west. In addition to large one-time guarantee of over $900,000, the game will be broadcast nationally on NBC. I agreed to the location because I knew the history of alums traveling to the Alamo Bowl in 1994 and their enjoyment of the city. The opportunity for Washington State to basically have three and a half hours of national exposure is invaluable to the institution. We also have the opportunity to place general university advertisements in the broadcast, which is beneficial to the entire university.

Mayor of Laurel: Mr. Nooksack, clear up this issue: Did you graduate from Nooksack or Lynden Christian? Legions of fans in lesser Whatcom County want to know!

Jim Sterk: Small world. There was a Jim Sterk to graduate from Lynden Christian; however, I am a true Nooksack Valley pioneer.

Pullman: Not a question but a statement. Once I got over the initial shock of it all, I was very impressed with how you handled the "Apple Cup moving to Qwest" situation. I thought you assessed the financial climate well, and were wise in looking for alternative revenue. Good job.

Jim Sterk: Thank you for your comment. For the future health of Washington State University Athletics I do need to consider all possible revenue opportunities. Our challenge with competing in the Pac-10, the Conference of Champions, is that all of our league members generates significantly more revenue than WSU. This creates challenges in the areas of facilities, facility development, hiring and retaining coaches, scholarship support, etc.

Moderator: To add to that, please read Jim's message in Butch's Beat, which explains his rationale of why he considered the Apple Cup move by clicking HERE. In addition, please take a look at the special issue of Butch's Beat, featuring messages from Associate AD/Development Chris Walker and Director of Ticket Sales Dan Meyer on how you can support the Cougars. Click HERE to access the issue.

Dave East Wenatchee: Any chance we could get a Womens softball program going at WSU?

Jim Sterk: Thank you for the question Dave. As a guy who grew up playing fastpitch until I was 30 and have three daughters who play the sport, I would love to have softball at WSU. The challenge is funding a sport whose operating costs would probably be $700,000 per year, as well as the expense of building a facility. If resources and support became available I would jump at the chance to add the sport.

Pat Spokane: I understand the next phase of Martin Stadium was out for re-bid to see if it cost have dropped to help the cause. Long time season ticket holder so we are wondering how that went. Thanks for all the hard work for us.

Jim Sterk: Pat, with the downturn in the economy construction costs have dropped. Our contractor for the project, Graham Construction Company out of Spokane, has a good read on the environment. For example, they have shown us projects in the first half of the year that have come in anywhere from a 20 percent to a 40 percent reduction in costs from 18 months ago. With regard to Phase III, we will not know the savings to the project until it was officially bid. In the meantime, we've looked at some add alternates that could reduce the scope of the project while still maintaining the purpose and function it was intended to achieve. Our intent is to take advantage of this opportunity in reduced construction costs if at all possible. As I answered in the previous question, the benchmarks of our financing model must be achieved before we can put this project out to bid.

Brett, Seattle: Any chance with the recent success of the WSU Baseball team that they can play a game or even a series at Safeco Field?

Jim Sterk: Brett, that is something we have explored in the past and would look at in the future. I am really proud of the way the coaches and players put together a great season and ultimately making their way to the NCAA Regionals. I also want to thank Cougar friends and alumni who have supported the significant baseball renovations that have occurred in the past six years. Their support has a direct correlation to the success of the program.

Moderator: Okay that's all the time we have. Jim, thank you for joining us once again.

Jim Sterk: I look forward to this fall. Things are starting to gear up with many of the fall sports teams reporting for practice later this week. Thank you for your support of Cougar Athletics. Go Cougs!

Moderator: Remember, to get all the information about WSU Athletics, go no further than wsucougars.com, the official website of Cougar Athletics. Please check back to wsucougars.com for future online chats. Thank you to everyone for your questions.