The Cougars were 13–13 overall in the regular season and dropped both campus games to rival Washington,[1][2] but defeated the Huskies at the Spokane Coliseum.[3]
The Pacific Coast Conference disbanded in the spring of 1959, and the successor Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU, Big Five) initially included the PCC's Southern Division and Washington. The other four teams of the Northern Division competed as independents for several years; all but Idaho eventually joined.
Washington State was 5–7 against the former Northern Division: Washington (1–2), Oregon (0–3), Oregon State (0–2), and Palouse neighbor Idaho (4–0).[4]