What to Know as the UW Joins the Big Ten

The University of Washington officially joined the Big Ten Conference on Aug. 2, and we’re excited to introduce ourselves to fans across the nation.

1. UW researchers are working for a healthier world.

The UW is one of the world’s preeminent public universities, and we’re dedicated to improving lives in Washington and beyond. We have the largest College of the Environment in the nation, our Population Health Initiative transforms research into actions that improve and save lives, and UW Medicine serves hundreds of thousands of patients a year.

Members of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium support the work of 3,000 researchers, and cancer research is a big deal for us, too. The UW is part of the Cancer Consortium with Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.

Photograph of live husky mascot, Dubs — UW’s mascot, “Dubs”

2. The Husky is more than a mascot.

If you come to a home football game, you’ll hear a distinctive “woo woo” howl: It’s Dubs, our furry live mascot. The current Dubs has been serving since 2019. You can even follow him on Instagram!

The first live mascot, Frosty I, was introduced in 1922, when the UW officially became the Huskies. Our canine joins a menagerie of mammal mascots in the Big Ten, with the Wildcats, Wolverines, Bruins, Badgers, Golden Gophers and Nittany Lions.

3. Students and fans put their Dubs Up!

Snap a photo of a group of Huskies and they’ll probably throw their Dubs Up: our signature hand gesture. Our Big 10 colleagues have some similar traditions: Purdue fans yell “Boiler Up!” and Wisconsin students make a two-handed W.

4. You can’t beat the view from the UW.

We’re one of four new members of the Big Ten in 2024, alongside USC, UCLA and Oregon. We’re excited to share some West Coast sights with sports fans across the country.

We’ve got a little of everything in Seattle, a vibrant city right next to the spectacular natural beauty of the Puget Sound, Lake Washington, and the Cascade and Olympic mountains. Campus is known for landmarks like “the fountain and the mountain” — Drumheller Fountain with a backdrop of Mount Rainier. Every spring, our Yoshino cherry trees in the Quad draw crowds with their clouds of pink blossoms.

A photograph of fans cheering on the Dawgs by doing the Wave — Fans cheer on the Dawgs by doing the Wave

5. Huskies helped make ‘The Wave’ famous.

Exactly when sports fans started doing “The Wave” is hard to say — but we know Husky fans helped make it legendary on Halloween 1981, energizing the Dawgs in their victory against Stanford.

The Wave is still popular in Husky Stadium, also known as the “Greatest Setting in College Football.” But our friends at the University of Iowa have leveled up the stadium wave: At the end of each home football game’s first quarter, Hawkeye fans turn and wave to patients at the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital. (Nicely done, Hawkeyes!)

A photograph of the famous Suzzallo Library building at the University of Washington, Seattle Campus

A photograph of the famous Suzzallo Library building at the University of Washington
The iconic reading room inside the Suzzallo Library at the University of Washington

The iconic reading room inside the Suzzallo Library
A photograph of the stairs leading up to the Reading Room inside the Suzzallo Library

Stairs leading up to the Reading Room inside the Suzzallo Library

6. The UW has a magical library.

Suzzallo Library is one of the most beautiful buildings on campus, with Gothic arches, stained-glass windows and rows of study tables that make students feel like they’re on a movie set.

Suzzallo and Allen Libraries hold over 2 million print volumes. In 2023, Big Ten Academic Alliance members shared the third-largest library collection in the world.

7. The Huskies make it Purple Reign.

You’ve probably heard it rains a lot in Seattle. While we can weather a storm, our Big Ten friends at Ohio State actually see more annual rainfall. But we do love to let our Purple Reign!

You’ll always see fans in purple and gold at Husky Stadium, but there will be more in our Big Ten home opener against Northwestern, who wear purple and white. Our annual Purple Out game is Oct. 5 vs. the Michigan Wolverines.

8. UW goes for the gold.

The Dawgs love an underdog: in 1936, our men’s rowing team beat the odds to capture Olympic gold. Their story inspired the best-selling book and Hollywood hit movie “The Boys in the Boat.”

A photograph of the UW men's crew team from 1936 — The Boys of ’36 in front of the ASUW Shellhouse

Rowing remains a UW powerhouse sport: Our men’s rowing team just won their 20th national title, the women’s rowing team has won five, and 17 UW rowing alumni are competing at the Paris Olympics. (all the Big Ten Olympians here.)

9. Husky fans like to get LOUD!

On Sept. 19, 1992, the crowd in Husky Stadium hit 133.6 decibels as the Dawgs beat Nebraska — making it one of the loudest college football games ever played.

This year, fans will make some noise at four Big Ten home games. The celebration extends beyond the stadium with tailgating and “sailgating” on Lake Washington.

10. At the UW, we’re boundless.

The UW is all about making education accessible for everyone: 28% of freshmen are first-generation college students, and more than 60,000 students from Washington have received the Husky Promise scholarship. Plus, 68% of all undergrad Huskies graduate with no known debt.

The Husky Experience changes lives — and Huskies change the world when we come together to strive toward a common goal.