As Jedd Fisch leads the Washington Huskies football program into a new era, the head coach of the Huskies expressed plenty of enthusiasm. During Big Ten Media Days, Fisch made it abundantly clear that he’s looking forward to the Huskies’ future in one of college football’s most prominent and prestigious conferences.
And while there will be plenty of challenges up ahead for the Washington Huskies as this new chapter of Washington football begins, it seems like Fisch is pretty thrilled with where Washington will be competing moving forward.
“I'm extremely excited about this opportunity and believe that we have a great football team that will be able to showcase and compete for championships year in and year out,” Fisch stated.
That’s a pretty bold thing to say, but there’s no way that Fisch doesn’t feel that it’s possible. This is a program that, although full of new parts and pieces on this year’s roster, was just contending for a national championship. And Fisch just proved at Arizona that he can elevate a program very quickly.
Washington football entering new era in Big Ten in 2024
Fisch also wanted to make it clear that he’s incredibly grateful for this opportunity to coach in Seattle and also the Big Ten.
“I'd like to take this opportunity to start off by just saying that this experience and this opportunity to be the head football coach at the University of Washington, being the first year of joining the Big Ten, is an absolute privilege,” Fisch explained. “I don't take it lightly.”
The new head coach of the Huskies has a fascinating opportunity ahead of him as he gets to build a team that is uniquely his and he’s got the resources to get a strong program established for the foreseeable future. In the span of three seasons at Arizona, Fisch was able to turn the Wildcats into a dangerous program that won 10 games. That was one heck of a rebuilding job.
Things will be different in Seattle and in the Big Ten. Fisch definitely seems to know that, but he also seems pretty confident about Washington’s chances.
“Washington is among the elite football programs in the country. It's undisputably one of the greatest public universities academically and athletically,” Fisch said. “I really believe that when President Cauce made the decision to join the Big Ten, we put ourselves in a position to be in an elite class and with an elite group of teams.”
For a program like the Washington Huskies, the Big Ten is a pretty good conference to be in. It’s stable, has solid media broadcasting deals, and gives the Huskies a solid path forward as this sport changes. Fisch is certainly aware of that.
The move out of the Pac-12 and into the Big Ten will be daunting, but it was a strategic move that Washington needed to make. And now, as the Huskies are in their new home, it sure sounds like they’re being led by someone who wants to be coaching in Seattle.