New UW Huskies AD Troy Dannen addresses murky future of Apple Cup

Troy Dannen was introduced as the new UW Huskies athletic director during a press conference on Tuesday, and one of the more important topics he addressed was the future of the annual Apple Cup rivalry football game.

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Washington is set to join the Big Ten next year, meaning the Huskies will leave behind the rival WSU Cougars, who as of now remain one of two members of the Pac-12 to not have a new conference for 2024 along with Oregon State.

Dannen, who comes to Montlake from holding the same position at Tulane, was forthright on the topic. When asked about the future of the football rivalry with WSU, Dannen noted the importance of playing seven home football games each season as part of the business model for Washington’s finances.

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With the Huskies playing nine conference games as part of their move to the Big Ten, it seemed a pretty clear indication by Dannen that the Apple Cup may not be able to continue in its current structure.

“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.”

The Apple Cup has long been played each football season on either the Friday or Saturday immediately following Thanksgiving, with the site alternating between WSU’s Martin Stadium in Pullman and Washington’s Husky Stadium in Seattle.

For more from Dannen’s press conference, read the article at this link.

The Associated Press contributed to this post.

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