The door is wide open for the Washington Huskies in new Pac-12 alliance

The future of Washington Huskies athletics has found itself in the midst of a huge transformation.

The Pac-12 has announced a historic alliance with two other Power Five conferences, the ACC and Big Ten. In an official statement by the Pac-12, the alliance is meant to “bring 41 world-class institutions together on a collaborative approach surrounding the future evolution of college athletics and scheduling.”

This announcement comes one month after the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma were granted approval to join the SEC beginning in 2025. The SEC has been the powerhouse behind the College Football Playoff with Alabama, LSU, Georgia leading the top five year after year.

While the conferences will remain competitors within the sports landscape, they will collaborate on topics related to student-athlete support, academics, social justice, gender equity, diversity, and inclusion.

How will this impact the Washington Huskies?

The Pac-12 often feels disregarded in terms of talent within the conference. They don’t have consistent top-five playoff teams like other conferences have. This newly announced alliance between the Pac-12, ACC, and Big Ten is a historic movement that will benefit Washington in the long run, especially for the football department.

Every year, Washington football typically plays nine in-conference games and three inter-conference games. Following the initiation of this alliance, the number of in-conference games will drop to eight. This gives the Huskies the opportunity to compete against top teams like Ohio State, Clemson, Notre Dame, and North Carolina.

So far, it’s not completely clear how this alliance will impact the Washington basketball program or other sports. In their statement, the Pac-12 stated: “In women’s and men’s basketball, the three conferences will add early and mid-season games as well as annual events that feature premier matchups between the three leagues.”

This alliance opens the door to many new opportunities for the Washington Huskies football program included an expanded College Football Playoff and a better chance at a National Championship.