The Spokesman-Review

PULLMAN — John Johnson, Washington State’s senior associate director of athletics, is changing from Cougars to Cornhuskers.

Johnson has accepted a senior administrative position at the University of Nebraska, sources confirmed Tuesday.

Johnson is the husband of Lisa Johnson, who was named Nebraska’s new women’s golf coach last month after more than a decade at the University of Idaho.

Johnson took over as WSU’s interim athletic director in 2017 after former AD Bill Moos left the school for the same job at Nebraska. He held the interim position until Pat Chun was hired in January 2018.

“The most important thing John does, he’s just such a likable human being he’s kept so many relationships strong for Washington State, so he leaves a hole for us,” Chun said. “I think we were all surprised when this happened. When he called me, I paused. I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ Because this was home.”

Johnson had previously been the athletic director at two Big Sky Conference schools: Eastern Washington from 1993-97 and Weber State from 1997-2004. He was raised in Spokane and attended EWU.