WSU Cougars fire athletic director Anne McCoy

Anne McCoy’s tenure as WSU Cougars athletics director is over after less than two years.

The school announced Wednesday it was parting ways with McCoy, who was hired for the role in June 2024.

“Anne has provided steady leadership through one of the most complex and pivotal periods in the history of Cougar Athletics,” WSU President Elizabeth Cantwell said in a statement. “She built a strong foundation for the program’s future grounded in integrity, academic success, and care for our student-athletes. We are deeply grateful for Anne’s decades of service and her unwavering commitment to Washington State University.”

Senior deputy of director of athletics and chief operating officer Jon Haarlow is taking over as the interim athletic director, the school announced.

McCoy spent more than 20 years rising up the ranks in WSU’s athletics department, originally hired in 2001 as the associate director of athletics for internal operations. After former athletic director Pat Chun left for the same role with the cross-state rival UW Huskies in March 2024, McCoy was promoted to interim athletics director, a role he served for three months before being hired for full-time. She was the first women to hold the position at WSU.

In taking over as athletic director, McCoy was tasked with navigating the department through massive change as the Pac-12 crumbled and the landscape of college sports rapidly changed in the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) era. The Pac-12, which WSU has been a member of since 1962, had 10 of its 12 schools depart for other leagues following the 2023-24 school year, leaving WSU and Oregon State to rebuild the once-storied conference.

McCoy’s most notable hires as WSU athletic director were men’s basketball coach David Riley and football coach Jimmy Rogers. Additionally, women’s basketball coach Kamie Ethridge received a contract extension during McCoy’s tenure.

Harlow has been at WSU since 2021. He’s also worked in the athletics departments at Lamar University, Abilene Christian University and the University of New Mexico.

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