WSU and the Confederated Tribes of the Coville Reservation announced a five-year, $8.43 million partnership that includes a jersey patch across all athletics programs. This deal is the largest annual sponsorship in the history of the athletic department. and is an evolution of the University’s existing relationship with the Confederation that has been in place since 1997.
The five-year deal will include a donation to the Cougar Athletic Fund of $250,000 in the first year. It also includes youth clinics in tribal communities, regional basketball development opportunities, and an AAU tribal tournament that helps branch out the athletic department’s involvement with the people who were here first. During the press conference, athletic director John Haarlow stated that the while the planning for the camps are in the early stages, the foundations are in place.
Other benefits will include special Nike N7 games for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams; along with integration across the game day experience and WSU athletics platforms.
According to Haarlow, it is expected that some of the revenue produced by the sponsorship deal will be distributed to the student athletes as part of the revenue sharing programs that’s now in place. The athletic director views this partnership as an investment in people.
Conversations between the Confederation and athletic department started last November. This included a trip to the men’s basketball game versus Gonzaga for the Coville business council and honored elders. This process started because Chad Marchand reached out to Haarlow to discuss a potential partnership with the athletic department.
The chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Coville Reservation Jarreed-Michael Erickson gave some remarks alongside WSU president Betsy Cantwell and Haarlow. Erickson made sure to emphasize that the indigenous tribes are not just part of the state’s history, but also its future and expanding the Confederations partnership with Washington State is one way to help express that. He stated that the hope is that the visual of the Colville tribal seal on the jerseys will help indigenous youth feel that there is a place for them in higher education while encouraging Cougs to learn more about the tribes that historically lived on the Palouse.
This deal was completed with the help of Playfly Sports which partnered with the Pac 12 on December 22, 2025. It is the first jersey patch sponsorship announced in the new Pac 12 which launches on Wednesday.
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