CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington University head coach Aaron Best has always been a football guy

But since he arrived at Eastern for his first fall camp as a player in 1996, culture has been a big priority.

“I think it’s been very, very beneficial to see a lot of the guys grow into being fathers, some of the guys on our team being fathers, being husbands," Best said. "To me, that’s not rough. Because I’ll sacrifice wins to have as many of those successes because I am a father. I am a husband, I am a friend.”

Best, like any coach, does care about wins and losses. He’ll be the first to admit the past three losing seasons are below expectations, but his standards for himself have never changed.

“Cooper Kupp was a captain. It might have been ’16, as a matter of fact, and he had everybody

See Full Page