Western Washing University shuts down its football program after 98 seasons

On Western Washington University's football Web site, next to its 2008 season results, is a notation that can be found accompanying any program across the nation: "There are no upcoming events."

That advisory took on a haunting poignancy Thursday on the Bellingham campus, where the school announced it was dropping a football program that had existed for 98 seasons.

"It's almost like a broken heart. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to play football again," said junior receiver Rick Copsey. "I have a queasy stomach. I just kind of feel lost."

Western Washington administrators cited several factors, including rising operation costs, especially for travel, and sharp state budget cuts that Gov. Christine Gregoire recently put at 13 percent for four-year schools.

Athletic director Lynda Goodrich said the school's 16-sport program is getting $1.05 million in state aid annually. Vice president Eileen Coughlin said dropping football will save roughly $485,000 over the next couple of years.

Football coach Robin Ross says the school has about 20 scholarship equivalencies divided among about 70 players. Coughlin and Goodrich say the scholarships will be honored, but Copsey said, "I'm sure a good 85 percent will want to transfer out and play football."

Ross, who played at Washington State from 1974 to 1975, said he got the news in a meeting with Coughlin, Goodrich and school president Bruce Shepard at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Western had scheduled five prospects for recruiting visits this weekend, and Ross was ready to arrange with Shepard a time when the recruits could meet with the president.

"In 32 years of coaching, this is the worst day," Ross said. "I did not have a real good inkling."

Coughlin said the football program had been losing money in recent years.

Still, Ross had felt the program was on an upswing, saying, "We felt we were one of the programs in the state that actually had some success this year."

Ross says Western, playing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, was featuring fewer scholarships than it had three years ago when he was hired, and that steps were taken to curb expenses next year, such as playing only three games out of state.

"I felt it was all going in the right direction," Ross said.

The Vikings went 6-5 and finished their season with a victory in the Dixie Rotary Bowl in St. George, Utah, over Colorado School of Mines. That left a program begun in 1903 with an all-time record of 383-380-34.

"I never thought football was in harm's way," Copsey said. "Apparently, we were doing a lot worse than any of us thought."

One of Western's challenges was being one of the few NCAA Division II programs in the West playing football. The far-flung GNAC had five football-playing members: Central and Western Washington, Humboldt State in Northern California, Western Oregon and Dixie in Utah. They played each other twice a season.

"We hope to proceed with our remaining four institutions," said Richard Hannan, commissioner of the GNAC. The league is hoping to add Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbia.

"With five [Division II] schools in the West, I would have said their program is as solid as anybody's," said Jack Bishop, athletic director at Central Washington. "The thing I guess I worry about in fallout is, who's next?"

Coughlin said Shepard made the decision two days ago after consultations with Goodrich and Coughlin.

"It was his final call," Coughlin said of Shepard. "But I have to say: Lynda and I were right there with him."

Coughlin described the picture as one of interest income from university endowments having dried up with the sour economy, and "athletics was already in a situation where expenditures were greater than revenue. Then along comes the state and says, we're going to have to cut. We don't know the full impact of that yet."

Donations to football, she said, have been running about $80,000 to $85,000 annually, without enough prospect of increase to rescue the sport.

Coughlin and Goodrich lauded Ross for "stellar" leadership, particularly Thursday.

"He asked if he could follow our president today in addressing the athletes," said Goodrich. "He said, 'Bruce is going to turn the light off. I want to be able to turn it back on and tell them what other options there are for them, that they can rebound from this.' "

Ross still has two years left on his contract. He said Western will help try to place players and assistant coaches elsewhere, and that the school will pay for the aides to attend next week's national coaches convention — a hot spot for job networking — in Nashville.

"I just know some things aren't ever fair, and this one's not," Ross said. "But the reality is, we've got to move on and deal with it."

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com