On a dark Halloween night: Cougs take on the Sun Devils

PULLMAN, Wash. – Fans of all ages will be in for a rare treat this Thursday, as Pac-12 football comes to Washington State University’s Martin Stadium for a nationally televised Halloween night matchup between the Cougars and the 25th-ranked Sun Devils of Arizona State University.

The relatively rare weeknight football game, required of all Pac-12 conference members once every three years, features a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. Tickets to the game remain available through the WSU Athletic Ticket Office in person each weekday between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., online at wsucougars.com, or by phone at 1-800-GO-COUGS.

In an effort to ensure safety and ease of travel throughout the campus prior to the game, all Pullman classes will be cancelled beginning at noon on Thursday and attendance requirements for Thursday morning classes will be left to the discretion of  individual faculty members. The campus will return to normal class schedules on Friday.

As always, a variety of festivities are planned to precede the home game, beginning with an afternoon of Halloween Carnival fun for kids and their families at Beasley Coliseum, where costumes are encouraged and trick-or-treating and a variety of Halloween games and activities will run from 2 to 4 p.m.

For those fans making the trip to Pullman a day early, the festivities will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the Marriot Hospitality Teaching Center and Dining Room in the Todd Hall Addition 268 with “A Taste of Italy.”  This evening of fine dining and wine will be hosted in support of study abroad scholarships to the WSU College of Business Apicius International School of Hospital in Florence, Italy. Visiting executive chefs Andrea Trapani and Massimo Coppetti will prepare a three-course meal with wine pairings. The event costs $125 per person and reservations are available online here.

Thursday’s events begin at 7 a.m. with an open house at the newly constructed  Brelsford WSU Visitor Center, where visitors can browse a variety of interactive displays about the university right up until game time, purchase from a selection of Cougar cheeses and Wines by Cougs, or shop for a variety of Cougar gear and souvenir items.

Game day activities also include a visit from Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, who will be featured in a question and answer forum for sports management students hosted by Glenn Johnson, the Voice of the Cougs, and sponsored by the WSU Sports Management Program and the WSU College of Education. The event will run from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the CUB Auditorium.

And as always on home game days in Pullman, Kickoff at the CUB, an event featuring delicious food and family friendly entertainment in a festive atmosphere, will be held in the M.G. Carey Senior Ballroom of the CUB beginning three hours before game time. Attendees can enjoy a breathtaking view of the Palouse from the ballroom balcony, enjoy Butch and the Cougar Marching band and participate in numerous giveaways and activities.

A full list of game day activities is available online here.

Fans are reminded that the west end of Martin Stadium is now the construction site of WSU’s new $61 million state-of-the art football operations building, scheduled for completion next May. Those arriving for the football game should take into account a number of changes related to that ongoing construction:

• The west end of Martin Stadium is closed. While ‘Cougville’ will return for pregame at home WSU football games, the west end of Martin Stadium, including Gate I, will be closed for the 2013 football season. Fans can access Cougville at Rogers Field from either Glenn Terrell Mall or Colorado Street. Fans entering Martin Stadium are encouraged to use Gates E, F, G or H for access to the South side of the stadium and Gates A or B for North side access.

• The student entrance for the 2013 season will be Gate A, in the Northeast corner of Martin Stadium (by the Main Ticket Office and Cougar Pride statue). There will be no Martin Stadium access via Bohler Gym or Hollingbery Fieldhouse in 2013.

• Access to Hollingbery Fieldhouse and Mooberry Track will be limited. Fans are encouraged to use Stadium Way (from the North/East) or Glenn Terrell Mall (from the South/West) to access Martin Stadium. Please refer to your ticket for your specific entrance gate.

Recreational vehicle (RV) parking permits for this game are sold out. General parking for home football games is available on campus in designated parking areas on the eastern side of campus for $20. General parking permits can be purchased online prior to game day or at the entrances to the lots on game day. Game Day parking information and a link to a campus general parking map are available online at http://transportation.wsu.edu/Gameday2.html.

For additional information regarding general parking, call WSU Transportation Services, 509-335-PARK (7275). For the convenience of those who might wish to park off-campus, WSU has teamed up with Pullman Transit to establish Park and Ride locations where fans can park vehicles for free and catch a Cougar-themed Pullman Transit bus for the ride to Martin Stadium. Buses are scheduled to arrive and depart from each location at approximately 15-minute intervals. The Park and Ride lots will be opened three hours prior to each home game.

A map of Park and Ride locations is available at here.

All WSU Faculty and Staff can purchase end zone tickets for just $10 for this game, limit of 8 per employee. A WSU I.D. card is required to receive the discount. This discount is only available in person at the WSU Athletic Ticket Office on Stadium Way near the bronze Cougar Statue at Martin Stadium.

Despite the cancellation of afternoon classes, the Pullman campus will observe normal business office hours. Working with their supervisors, employees may have the option to:

  • Flex their schedule for the work week to accommodate being gone;
  • Telecommute; or
  • Take annual leave, personal holiday or leave without pay.

Human Resource Services has a detailed FAQ webpage for all categories of employees at http://hrs.wsu.edu/File/ParkingLotClosureFrequentlyAskedQuestions.pdf.

Contact:

Robert Strenge, WSU News, 509-335-3583, rstrenge@wsu.edu