Roos was an All-American at Eastern from 2001-04 before going on to a 10-year career in the National Football League with the Tennessee Titans where he earned All-Pro honors three times. As a senior in 2004, he earned five different All-America honors and was the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (then I-AA) Lineman of the Year. In 2004, he helped lead EWU to a 9-4 record, the co-Big Sky Championship and to the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs. As a result, he was a finalist for Inland Northwest Amateur Male Athlete of the Year. Roos, who graduated from Mountain View High School in Vancouver, Wash., in 2000, came to Eastern as a tight end and played one season on the defensive line before moving to left offensive tackle and starting the final 35 games of his career at that position. He played in the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Game, and was selected to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine. Roos was drafted in the second round (41st pick overall) by Tennessee in the 2005 draft. At the time he was drafted, Roos had played just six seasons of football, starting as a senior in high school in 1999. He moved to the United States from Estonia in 1992. While at Tennessee, Roos earned All-Pro honors in 2008, 2010 and 2011 and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl following the 2008 season. Starting when he became an offensive lineman as a sophomore at Eastern Washington University in 2002, Roos started every football game he played from 2002-14 as a collegian or professional. That streak that was at 226 games when he suffered a knee injury on Oct. 5, 2014, and subsequently announced his retirement on Feb. 26, 2015. He started 190 of a possible 190 games he could have played in until an appendicitis attack and subsequent surgery ended that streak in October 2012. Besides 35 EWU starts to end his collegiate career, he started 40 preseason NFL Games (10 seasons, 2005-14), 148 regular season NFL Games (10 seasons, 2005-14), 2 NFL Playoff Games (2007 & 2008) and 1 NFL Pro Bowl Game (February 2009). Roos announced his retirement from the National Football League on Feb. 26, 2015, after 10 NFL seasons. He credited several EWU coaches in his retirement statement on Instagram: “After 10 years as a Tennessee Titan I have decided to retire from football. I have given this decision much consideration. I feel fortunate to have played this long coming from a tight end turned defensive end turned offensive tackle from Eastern Washington University. I want to thank my coaches Mike Woodward (high school); Aaron Best, Paul Wulff, Beau Baldwin (EWU); Jeff Fisher, Mike Munchak, Ken Whisenhunt, Bruce Matthews (Titans); and all the coaches who made me a better player and man. To all the men I’ve shared the field with: I’m honored to have called you teammates. We have made memories for many lifetimes. I’m excited to begin the rest of my life, and I am grateful to do so now, while I am fully healthy. Although I don’t know what adventure the future holds, I know there will be family, friends, travel, whiskey, cigars and beer. All a man can ask for, and more. Thank you Titans fans for your support all these years. Cheers!!” Known for his generosity to EWU and the football program, Roos has been a regular visitor to Eastern games, even while he was NFL when the schedule allowed. The “Red Turf” project at Eastern was jump-started on January 26, 2010, with a generous initial gift from Roos and his wife Katherine, who are both graduates of Eastern. They contributed $500,000 toward having a red, Sprinturf surface installed in time for the 2010 season at EWU’s Woodward Field, which was renamed Roos Field in their honor. Eastern would finish a perfect 8-0 on the new surface en route to winning the 2010 NCAA Division I title. As a tribute to his giving legacy, Eastern re-named Woodward Field to “Roos Field” in fall 2010 upon completion of the project. Roos graduated from Eastern in 2005 with a double major in finance and economics, and Katherine graduated in 2004 with a degree in urban and regional planning. The Roos Foundation previously hosted its own dinner, auction and poker tournament for two years, but joined forces with the EWU athletic department for the Killin Dinner, Dance and Auction in 2009 and again in 2010. In June 2010, the Roos Foundation hosted the first-annual “Fish & Chip,” an annual fund-raising fishing and golf tournament in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, involving several professional football players and other VIPs. The Michael Roos Foundation was established to support local non-profit organizations, including EWU’s Eagle Athletic Association, Special Olympics in Washington and Boys and Girls Clubs of Spokane County. He was selected by the Eastern Athletic Department to the “100 for 100” All-Time Football Team, which was honored on Sept. 27, 2008, to commemorate Eastern’s 100th year of football. He was chosen as that squad’s top offensive lineman in fan voting. As part of the celebration for the 50th anniversary of the Big Sky Conference in the 2013-14 school year, he was selected as No. 22 on the list of the league’s 50 Greatest Male Athletes. In addition, his NFL All-Pro honor in 2008 was ranked No. 30 on the list of the league’s 50 Greatest Men’s Moments.
