WSU announces 10-year radio broadcast, ticket sales agreement
Greg Woods
May 15, 2025
The Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN – Washington State has a new partner for its radio broadcasting, ticket sales services and more.
The Cougars and Playfly Sports have agreed to a 10-year deal, the organizations announced Thursday, which will give Playfly rights to WSU’s radio broadcasts, outbound ticket sales and more. The deal goes into effect on July 1, the first day of WSU’s fiscal year 2026.
Terms of the new agreement were not disclosed.
Playfly replaces WSU’s agreement with Learfield, which purchased the rights to the Cougs’ radio broadcasts in 2000. That contract comes to an end this summer.
“This transformative partnership with Playfly Sports represents the next step into a new era for Cougar Athletics,” WSU AD Anne McCoy said via release. “Playfly’s relationship-first approach aligns with our values and their expertise and innovation make them an ideal long-term partner. Their focus on the future of college athletics, as well as their ability to leverage their resources to tell our story, will allow us to build deeper relationships with fans and sponsors while generating sustainable revenue to help support our student-athletes and programs.”
For WSU, this is a separate media rights deal than the one for TV broadcasts, which are negotiated through the Pac-12. That agreement is expected to be announced sometime this summer.
It’s unclear how this new agreement will impact the futures of Learfield employees at WSU, including football, men’s basketball and baseball play-by-play broadcaster Chris King, who enjoyed his first season on the job this year. The list also includes King’s basketball partner, Craig Ehlo, football color commentator Alex Brink and women’s basketball commentator Steve Grubbs.
According to the news release, Playfly will “lead the sales, cultivation, and activation of corporate sponsorships at both local and national levels and secure naming rights for select athletic venues.” That means some of the Cougars’ stadiums/arenas could undergo name changes, though details on that front are unclear.
Playfly Sports partners with more than 65 collegiate athletic departments, according to the release, with WSU becoming the sixth to integrate both multimedia rights and ticketing services under Playfly’s management.
“This partnership is about unlocking transformational growth for the next chapter of Washington State athletics,” Playfly Sports Properties president and former Seattle Reign guard (1986-88) Christy Hedgpeth said via release. “Together, we’re bringing a modern mindset to maximize untapped resources and drive sustainable revenue. From enhancing the fan journey in Pullman to engaging Coug fans across the Pacific Northwest and beyond, we’ll help WSU think like a media company and activate its national brand 365 days a year.”
Greg Woods: Washington State beat writer for The Spokesman-Review
