SEATTLE — Few sports traditions in Washington state have been around as long as the Apple Cup rivalry between the University of Washington and Washington State University.
However, the latest wave of conference realignment that has rocked the college athletics world threatens the very existence of cherished traditions like the century-plus history of football games between the two largest universities in the state of Washington.
Troy Dannen was introduced as the new athletic director at Washington in a Seattle press conference Tuesday and gave an answer that acknowledged the rich history of the traditional matchups but at the same time recognized that financial realities may override the will of the fans.
“My bias is I don’t want to lose history and the traditions. I also know that I have this economic model, particularly as we move to the Big Ten where we’re playing with people that frankly have an economic model that is, I don’t want to say far superior, but far greater than ours,” Dannen said. “We have to be really careful and seven home games is a piece of the economic model going forward that UW has to have.”
Dannen went on to say that part of ensuring UW can compete financially with the rest of its new conference is by having seven home games a season (Division-I college football teams typically play 12 regular-season games each year).
UW President Ana Mari Cauce, quickly sensing how Dannen's words might be taken by his new fan base, jumped in and said, "We are having some conversations, and Troy isn't 100% up to speed on them because he's been here for 26 hours."
If UW were to be mandated to have seven home games a season, that would mean the team would have five regular-season road games each year. Given the size of the Big Ten (which very confusingly now has 18 schools in it) those five road games likely all would end up being conference games.
Given that Washington State was not offered a bid to the Big Ten, UW wouldn't be able to play a road game in Pullman as it has every other year for almost a century. WSU understandably likely would not agree to only playing road games at Husky Stadium in order to continue the rivalry, putting its future at risk.
To be clear, no formal decisions of any kind have been made with regard to the Apple Cup. Cauce said in her press conference after the school announced its move to the Big Ten that UW was committed to maintaining the rivalry.
“I want to make 100% clear. We are fully committed to continuing the Apple Cup against Washington State,” Cauce said in August. “There is no question that the Apple Cup is a cherished tradition, and we want to continue our long history with the Cougars, including Apple Cup matchups across all of our sports as part of our nonconference schedule.”
WSU athletic director Pat Chun said in August that the Cougars' leadership will make the best decision for the future of the athletic program.
"I'm not doing any hypothesis about what could be. Whenever that point comes in time, we'll make decisions based on what's best for Washington State plain and simple. I don't see not playing the Apple Cup in Pullman not being the best," said Chun. "I don't see how that would ever be a good decision for Washington State."
Perhaps the behind-the-scenes conversations being had by UW and WSU will yield a mending of the fences and some kind of agreement that works out for both schools. However, Dannen appeared to indicate that the Big Ten would need to work with the schools in order to work out a solution if the Apple Cup were to continue as it currently stands with alternating hosts.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said in August when news of UW's departure from the Pac-12 broke that it was his "understanding and expectation that the University of Washington remains committed to permanently continuing the Apple Cup with Washington State University, one of our state’s greatest traditions and a prime example of how regional rivalries make college sports so special.”
Whatever the future holds for the Apple Cup, fans should cherish the 115th edition of the game coming up in late November at Husky Stadium. Both teams are ranked inside the top 20 of the AP Top 25 Poll as of Oct. 11, and each side features one of the best quarterbacks in the country.
Michael Penix Jr. is the betting favorite at some sportsbooks to win the Heisman Trophy (essentially college football's MVP trophy for Division I-FBS) at Washington, while Cam Ward at Washington State has risen into the elite class of college QBs with his torrid start to the year.
Plenty more news will come surrounding WSU's future as an athletic program and what its games with UW look like, but there is at the very least some doubt about the future of the state's most storied collegiate sports tradition.