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Hello Cougar Fans and welcome to the A.D. Forum. Washington State University Director of Athletics Jim Sterk will post periodic entries on this page about topics regarding WSU Athletics.
April 7, 2009
Cougar Alumni, Students, Fans and Supporters,
It is with great excitement and pride that I welcome Ken Bone as the 17th head basketball coach of the Washington State University men's basketball program.
Ken's arrival to WSU completes a search that, although just a week in duration, was an extensive one. We interviewed exceptional candidates for the position and at the conclusion of the process, I determined that Ken was the best person to lead our basketball program.
I stated last week that we will find someone with the experience and values that Dick and Tony Bennett brought to the program, as well as epitomizing our core values at the Athletic Department: Excellence, Integrity, Passion, Pride, and Student-Athlete Well Being. Ken characterizes all of these aforementioned qualities.
Ken and I have crossed paths before at Seattle Pacific during the 1990-91 season. I was an associate athletic director, and he was in his first season as head coach of the SPU program. Since then, I have maintained contact with Ken and closely followed his career.
Throughout his coaching career, Ken has a track record of leading programs to high-levels of achievement. While at Seattle Pacific, Ken won 253 games and led the school to six conference titles and eight NCAA Division II appearances. From Seattle Pacific, Ken moved to the University of Washington as an assistant coach. While there, he helped the Huskies to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 2005.
After four seasons at Washington, Ken moved south to take the head coaching position at Portland State University in 2005. Inheriting a program that was less than a decade old since its reinstatement in 1996, Ken turned the program around and led the Vikings to NCAA Tournament berths in 2008 and 2009, the only NCAA appearances in program history. What Ken was able to achieve at Portland State is truly outstanding.
Ken is a heck of a coach and will be a great fit for Washington State University. I welcome him, his wife Connie, and their daughters Kendra, Jenae, and Chelsea to the Cougar Family.
Finally, I want to thank you for your support during the last week as shown by your donations and pledges to the A.D.'s Fund for Basketball Excellence. I greatly appreciate your support of the program through your donations and pledges to this fund, which you may contribute to by clicking HERE .
Go Cougs!
Jim Sterk
