Pat Chun must love Washington Huskies Athletics and his choice to leave WSU

On August 21, 2023 news broke that Jen Cohen was leaving the University of Washington (her alma mater) to become the new Athletic Director at USC. This was a move that surprised many across the country and began a nationwide search for the next AD for UW.

It didn't take long as Troy Dannen was hired out of Tulane by October.

Things were looking great for UW as Dannen set to hire a new football coach in Jedd Fisch and was working on hiring a new basketball coach after firing Mike Hopkins. However, Dannen was only there for a little over five months as he left when Nebraska came and offered to pay his buyout.

It should have sent the department reeling and hurting. To lose two athletic directors in the span of one year, a football coach, a basketball coach, and some of the other athletic staff. It was a dark day on Montlake.

Looking back, we can see, in hindsight where Washington Athletics was headed was better than where they had been. We simply didn't know it at the time. It took a look over at our little brother to see the hope on the horizon.

Not often do the Cougars give us gifts, except in the occasional "Cougin It" fumble or pick, but we found an amazing Athletic Director in Pat Chun at Washington State.

Pat Chun was the perfect AD pick for the Washington Huskies

Chun had done a lot with a little over at Washington State and because of that he was named Under Armor Athletic Director of the Year. He was on the College Football Playoff Committee already and serves on the council for NCAA Division 1.

He seemed like the perfect fit to take UW into the Big 10 and not only for the football and basketball programs but to truly see all the sports make the jump.

That's exactly what we have seen in the last year under Chun's leadership.

Sure, you can say that a lot of this was already on the right trajectory before Chun came into the AD role but you could also make a case that his leadership has only propelled it forward. Either way, I imagine him looking around the Athletics Department with a smile on his face like the picture above. There are over 20 official sports through the University of Washington, let's also look around the Athletics Department and pull out some of the highlights.

Football

The Husky football team is coming off a national championship appearance. Has hired a new coach and staff that has turned the program around in terms of recruiting. NWSportsFan on twitter summed it up perfectly.

The football program is currently just outside the top 25 and are one of the hottest programs in the country. It is one of only a few programs that have yet to give up a Touchdown and they are going into Apple Cup week with Chun smiling from ear to ear as they face off against his previous university.

Men's basketball

There are still a ton of question marks for this year's basketball team but the hiring of Danny Sprinkle (just before Chun came on board), one of the hottest coaches out there. And the return of some profile recruiting and transfers, has the program looking on its way back to the top.

There was a season that UW was more known for its basketball prowess than it's football. Chun is looking for it to be notorious in both departments.

Men's Soccer

One of the top programs in the nation. As of this writing, the program is just outside the top 25 but most assuredly will be in the top rankings shortly as they had a big win over #11 Seattle University on September 9.

This will propel them into one of the teams to beat in the soccer world.

Women's Soccer

Head Coach Nicole Van Dyke has been with the Huskies for five seasons and has amassed a winning program throughout that time. They are already on their way to another winning season, while early, they hold a record of 3-1-2. The program continues to be a great program and will be a stalwart in the Big Ten.

Women's Softball

The leadership of Coach Heather Tarr has brought the UW Women's Softball to national prominence with a trip to the College Softball World Series in 2023 and Super Regionals in 2024. Coach Tarr has been on the recruiting trail this week and has added some premier talent. One of those, Brooklyn Paratore is ranked #54 in the top 100 softball recruits by Softball America.

Women's Volleyball

The Volleyball team has started the season undefeated at 5-0. They have a powerhouse team with three players winning awards at the Buffs Classic this last week; Kiune Fletcher who won the 𝘔𝘝𝘗, Julia Hunt, and Emoni Bush. They also completed a 20-block game, if you aren't familiar with volleyball that's super impressive and doesn't happen often. The last time the team had that many in one match, it was 2014.

Men's Baseball

One of Chun's first hires was getting Head Coach Eddie Smith to come be the new man at the helm of the Men's Baseball program. From the GoHuskies website, "Smith, a native of Olympia, Washington, comes to Montlake after three seasons at Utah Valley, quickly turning the Wolverines around from a Western Athletic Conference bottom dweller to one of the nation’s most feared mid-major outfits.

Before UVU, Smith proved himself as one of college baseball’s most brilliant offensive minds as an assistant coach at top programs in Virginia, Santa Clara, Notre Dame, Tulane and LSU."

The first win this week for UW is that we have the best Athletic Director in the State (maybe the country) and it's thanks to our little brother across the state in WSU. Thanks for training him up and sending him on to us. We can look around at our Athletic Department and smile, just like Chun.