Category: Sports

Eastern’s head basketball coach accepts the top job at the University of Portland. By Charles E. Reineke Following Eastern’s Big Sky Conference Tournament championship — and a spirited near-miss against the University of Kansas in the first round of March Madness — men’s basketball head coach Shantay Legans announced he was leaving EWU for the…

A Big Sky Tournament Championship, and a third March Madness appearance, cap a Covid-plagued season to remember. By Paul Delaney   Last March, after EWU’s men’s basketball team won the Big Sky Conference regular season title, it seemed only a matter of time until the Eagles punched their ticket to their third NCAA Tournament berth.…

David Riley spent almost a decade as an EWU assistant. Now it’s his turn to lead.   David Riley ’13, a longtime EWU assistant, on March 25 was named to succeed his former boss, Shantay Legans, as the new head coach of the Eagles men’s basketball team. The upcoming 2021-22 season will be Riley’s 11th…

A recent EWU grad is poised to make his mark on biochemistry By Leilah Langley John Vant ’18 would be the first to admit that his decision to attend Eastern Washington University had little to do with academics. The Montana native, now 26, says he enrolled at Eastern mostly because the university’s rec center had…

H. George Frederickson, former EWU president, led dramatic advancements in academics, athletics and fundraising. By Eastern Magazine George Frederickson, the revered former president of Eastern Washington University who led dramatic advancements in academics, athletics and fundraising, died on July 24 in Lawrence, Kansas. He was 86. Over the university’s long history, few individuals have had…

In February, EWU hosted the USA National Curling Championships. By Eastern Magazine Back in February, just weeks before the coronavirus upended athletic competitions across the globe, the EWU Recreation Center for the first time played host to the USA Curling National Championships. The weeklong competition featured the nation’s top men’s and women’s curling sides, each…

A generous gift restores historic Roos Field to its inferno-like luster By Eastern Magazine On an appropriately sweltering July day, crews at The Inferno began installing the second generation of Roos Field’s iconic red turf. The project was slated to be completed well in advance of Eastern’s home football opener against Western Illinois on Sept.…

Men’s Basketball honored for its 2020 Big Sky Conference title By Eastern Magazine In May, the Spokane County Board of Commissioners recognized the Eastern men’s basketball team in a proclamation made during a remotely-held meeting. The citation recognized EWU for winning the Big Sky Conference outright championship, honored Mason Peatling for his conference MVP win,…

Eagle Athletes and Coaches Adapt to Pandemic Uncertainty. By Paul Delaney Eastern Washington University men’s basketball head coach Shantay Legans had a unique view of the outbreak of COVID-19 back in March. In Boise for the Big Sky Conference Tournament, Legans vividly recalled the day it all fell apart for his red hot Eagles, a team…

A $25 million renovation project aims to transform Roos Field. Eastern’s Athletic Director Lynn Hickey explains the hows and whys. By Dave Meany They say things are bigger in Texas. But that doesn’t mean better. Just ask Lynn Hickey, EWU’s director of athletics and associate vice president since April 2018. After more than 20 years…