Brother Mullennix Gets Another Year of Cougar Football

PULLMAN, Wash. - Washington State University senior Matt Mullennix has been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA, the university announced Thursday.

Mullennix, a defensive end from Spangle, Wash., missed the entire 2006 season after suffering a knee injury prior to the school's football opener at Auburn. Additionally, Mullennix suffered a season-ending injury early in the 2004 season. Following a medical appeal process to receive an additional year, the NCAA approved the request earlier this week, clearing the way for Mullennix's return.

"I am very excited to get another opportunity to return to the field for WSU," said Mullennix, who this past year earned bachelors degrees in both management and operations and psychology, and will pursue another degree this fall. "I have been very impressed with the new coaching staff and look forward to spending another year in a Cougar uniform."

WSU opens its 2008 season against Oklahoma State at the Cougar Gridiron Classic, Aug. 30, at Qwest Field in Seattle.

DUs at Seattle Game

WSU DUs Zach Enyeart and Matt Mullennix after WSU Seattle Game.

Mullennix to Start for Cougar Football

WSU Delta Upsilon Senior Matt Mullennix '07 is back at full strength after last years knee surgery. Matt also excells in the classroom where last semester he earned better then a 3.50 GPA and will receive one of the WSU DU Jason Taitch Scholarships this year.

From WSU Athletics web site:

Up front the Cougars welcome the return of senior Matt Mullennix (6-7, 259). Mullennix, scheduled to be the starting defensive end last year, suffered a season-ending injury prior to the opener at Auburn. Mullennix's return will help fill the void left by Bruce, who led WSU with 11 sacks last season.

Enyeart Competes for Long Snapper Job

WSU Delta Upsilon Sophomore Zach Enyeart '10 is a redshirt freshmen member of the Cougar Football team.

From today's Seattle Times:

The Cougars will have a new long snapper this year for extra points and field goals because junior Pete Hill didn't return because of a chronic knee problem. The candidates to replace him are Tony Thompson, the second-year punt snapper, and Zach Enyeart, redshirt freshman offensive lineman from Skyline High outside Issaquah.

Kuester MCs LI for 2nd Year in a Row

WSU Delta Upsilon Alumni Nate Kuester '05 was the Master of Ceremonies at the annual DUIF Leadership Institute that completed yesterday in St. Louis. This is the second year in a row that Nate has been the MC. He was also last winter's WEC MC in Indianapolis.

Nate is an anchor for KTRV television in Boise, Idaho. Here is Nate's bio from the KTRV web site:

I'm excited to join the team at "FOX 12 This Morning" as an anchor providing you with weather, news and sports. I come to the Treasure Valley from up North in Lewiston, at CBS affiliate KLEW, where I worked the last few years as an anchor/reporter. I did everything from News, sports and weather just like my current role here at FOX 12. I've been working in Idaho and the Northwest for many years.

I'm originally from a little town in Oklahoma called Yukon (the home of Garth Brooks). So you might imagine I've seen some pretty extreme weather. But don't hold that against me, I was as impressed as anyone when I watched the Broncos win the best game of football I've ever seen in the Fiesta Bowl. Though I grew up in the OK state, the Northwest is home for me.

I got my start in broadcasting at the age of 15 when I experimented with radio as a DJ. That experiment turned into a career, and I haven't looked back since.

I'm a rabid Washington State University Cougar sports fan. GO COUGS! I graduated from the WSU Edward R. Murrow School of Communication. While at WAZZU I served as the Student Body Vice President and am still involved with my fraternity, Delta Upsilon at both the regional and national levels today.

I couldn't be happier to join the Treasure Valley Community and the "FOX 12 This Morning" news team.

In Appreciation: Randall Johnson (1915-2007) a DU Brother

Randall Johnson Prints On Sale, July 18 at wsucougars.com

In the early `90s, a print commemorating the logo and Randall Johnson was created. A total of 1,250 prints were made, and all were personally signed by Johnson and placed on sale to the public. The funds from the print were directed toward the Spokane Cougar Club Endowment, which was renamed to the Randall Johnson Endowed Scholarship in 1995.

Not all of the prints were sold during the original sale, and the ones not sold were placed in a storage area in the Bohler Athletic Complex.

In honor of Randall Johnson and the countless contributions he made to WSU, the WSU Athletic Department will place 200 of these 20 x 24 prints on sale for the special price of $200 (plus $25 shipping and handling) Wednesday, July 18 at 10 a.m. at wsucougars.com, the official website of Cougar Athletics. Every dollar from the $200 cost of the print will be directed toward the Randall Johnson Endowed Scholarship.

In Appreciation: Randall Johnson (1915-2007)

It has been seen in the state of Washington, across the nation, and in many instances, throughout the world. From apparel, license plates, and cheese tins to the 50-yard line on the FieldTurf surface at Martin Stadium, and everywhere in between.

It is the logo of Washington State University: the Cougar Head Monogram. The logo has become so recognizable that when one speaks of, or thinks about, WSU, chances are it is the logo that appears as their initial vision of the University.

"It's probably the best known logo in the United States," longtime friend and former WSU registrar C. James Quann said.

On Feb. 16, WSU lost the gentleman responsible for creating the logo. But though he is gone, the legacy he left behind will live forever in the past, present, and future of Washington State University.

Randall Johnson, creator of the Cougar Head logo, passed away at the age of 91 in Spokane.

The story of how the logo came to be is well known. It was created by Johnson in July 1936 when he was a student at then named Washington State College.

Employed as a college sign painter that summer, Johnson, a fine arts major, was working for Fred Rounds, the college architect and head of the Department of Buildings and Grounds.

"Both of us saw the possibilities of what he (Rounds) called `some kind of trademark,' to use instead of the lengthy official name," Johnson wrote in describing the creation of the logo. "He authorized me to see what I could think up, maybe incorporating the Cougar-head shape."

It took him three nights to create the logo that became the trademark of the university.

"I was just kind of doodling," Johnson told the Spokesman-Review in a 2000 interview. "I wanted a cougar. I wanted it to be animated, directional and also carry at a distance. Finally, one night I got it hooked together the way I liked it."

Rounds liked Johnson's creation, and the pair took it to Dean Kimbrough, who was acting president while President Ernest Holland was in Japan. Kimbrough gave his blessing and the rest was history.

In 1958, when the school's name was changed to Washington State University, Johnson tweaked the logo to reflect the revised name.

The logo has been in feature films, placed on World War II fighter jets and has even been in outer space when astronaut John Fabian wore a logo pin aboard the space shuttle.

Though he is best known to Cougar fans as the logo's architect, Johnson's accomplishments go far beyond his creation of the Cougar logo.

Author of numerous papers, which he also illustrated, about Inland Northwest history, Johnson was named a "Living Legend" by the Westerners, an international history organization, in 1999. At the time, Johnson was just the 39th person to earn such a distinction in the 55-year history of the organization.

After graduating from WSC in 1938, Johnson began a career in the advertising department of the Washington Water Power Company, where he would stay for the next 38 years, interrupted only by his service in the military in World War II. Johnson served in the infantry, medical department, and instructional services of the Command and General Staff School.

Johnson was first employed at WWP in 1940 as an advertising artist. He was later placed in charge of the firm's advertising activities, a position he would hold until his retirement.

In 1956, Johnson was the first to be named "Ad Man of the Year" by the Spokane Advertising and Sales Association and in 1977 he received the Silver Medal of the American Advertising Federation. Two years later, Johnson was honored with the WSU Alumni Achievement Award and, in 1997, Johnson and his wife Jeanne were designated as WSU Benefactors.

"He was probably the greatest Cougar of all-time," said Quann, who proposed that the Art Museum on the WSU campus be named in honor of Johnson. "He remained faithful to the Cougars and to Washington State University throughout his entire life."

At the same time he revised the logo to reflect the change to Washington State University, Johnson sold the rights to the logo for a token amount of $1.

"The Cougar Head Monogram is my gift to my Alma Mater that did so much for me," Johnson wrote. "Its acceptance by several generations of Cougars is more than enough pay."

Story By Jason Krump

WSU DU Worm Burner Raises $4,750 for Jason Taith Scholarship

41 WSU Delta Upsilon alumni, undergraduates, parents (including two mom's), and rush guests particiapted in the annual WSU DU Worm Burner Golf Tournament on Saturday June 23rd at Druids Glen Golf Club in Covington. Together with donations from individuals not able to golf the group raised $4,750 for the Jason Taitch Memorial Scholarship Fund. Thank you to each and every golfer and individual who helped us raise this significant funding for the scholarship.

Click here to make a donation to the Jason Taitch Memorial Scholarship fund.