Central Washington University Athletics

John Picha, a long-time member of the Central Washington University football program as both a coach and student-athlete, was named interim head coach at his alma mater on August 9, 2013.  He announced on May 6, 2024 his retirement from CWU after 36 years. 

Picha, enters his 36th season as a member of the Wildcat coaching staff in 2023.  He had been an assistant coach for seven different head coaches at CWU – including Mike Dunbar, Jeff Zenisek, John Zamberlin, Beau Baldwin, Ian Shoemaker, and now Chris Fisk.

Over the course of his career, Picha has helped the Wildcats to 13 conference championships, 14 post-season appearances, and one national championship. He has coached both on offense and on defense, including an stint of more than a decade as the team’s offensive coordinator. Most recently, Picha served as the linebackers coach while continuing to serve as the recruiting coordinator.

In 2002, he was named the American Football Coaches Association’s NCAA Division II Offensive Coordinator of the Year after helping guide the Wildcats to an 11-1 overall record and the program’s first-ever NCAA post-season appearance.

Prior to becoming a full-time assistant in 1993, Picha spent six seasons as either a graduate assistant or part-time assistant coach for the Wildcats. He was a graduate assistant during the 1988 and 1989 campaigns, working directly with tight ends, before coaching defensive linemen in 1990, 1992, and 1993. He then moved to inside linebackers for two seasons before assuming duties as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 1996.

In addition to his tenure as a member of the football coaching staff at CWU, Picha served as the Wildcats’ head track and field coach from 1995-99. He was the Pacific Northwest Athletic Conference men’s Coach of the Year in 1995, leading the Wildcats to the conference title and a 17th-place finish at the NAIA National Championships.

As a player, Picha was a two-year letterman for the Wildcats as an offensive lineman. He earned honorable mention all-Columbia Football Association honors as a senior in 1987, starting all 10 games at center as CWU averaged 252.7 rushing yards per game while setting a CFA record with 34 rushing touchdowns. As a junior for the Wildcats, he received the team’s Best Blocker Award.

Prior to coming to Ellensburg, Picha played for two seasons at Wenatchee Valley College, where he earned second-team all-Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) honors as a sophomore. He graduated from Rogers High School in Puyallup in 1984.

A 1993 graduate of CWU, Picha lives in Ellensburg with his wife of 16 years, Brenda, and their two children, David and Katie .