Jake Dickert honored former Washington head coach Mike Leach while on the stage at Pac-12 Media Day on Friday in Las Vegas.

Leach passed away last December. He had a memorable stint in Pullman as the Cougars’ head coach from 2012-19.

Dickert made sure to recognize Leach’s impact.

“I want to give a nod to Coach Leach because I know everyone used to remember him for his funny things at media days, talking about pirates and mascots, all the fun things,” Dickert said. “We remember him at Washington State for making us believe we could win again.”

Leach’s run at Washington State was one of the most successful in program history. He helped the Cougars to a trio of 9-win campaigns, including an 11-win season in 2018. That remains the only campaign where Washington State has ever topped 10 wins in a single season.

Prior to Leach’s arrival, Washington State had gone 8 straight seasons without making a bowl game. Leach led the Cougars to the postseason 6 times in 8 seasons.

Dickert said Washington State intends to honor Leach at its home game against Wisconsin on Sept. 9. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey also honored Leach at SEC Media Days last week.

Washington State will open the 2023 campaign against Colorado State on Sept. 2.