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Huskies Rose Bowl Win – Warren Moon
Moon attended two-year West Los Angeles College and was a record-setting quarterback as a freshman in 1974, but only a handful of four-year colleges showed interest in signing him. Offensive coordinator Dick Scesniak of the University of Washington in Seattle, however, was eager to sign the rifle-armed Moon. Adamant that he played quarterback, Moon considered himself to be perhaps a slightly above-average athlete who lacked either the size, speed, or strength to play other positions.
Under new head coach Don James, Washington was 11–11 in Moon’s first two seasons as a starter, but as a senior in 1977, he led the Huskies to the Pac-8 title and a 27–20 upset win in the Rose Bowl over Michigan. Moon was named the game’s Most Valuable Player on the strength of two short touchdown runs and a third-quarter 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Robert “Spider” Gaines.
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1991 Huskies Football National Champs
The 1991 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. Head coach Don James, in his 17th season at Washington, was assisted by coordinators Keith Gilbertson (offense) and Jim Lambright (defense), both head coaches themselves within two years.
The 1991 team was arguably the finest team in school history and split the national championship with the Miami Hurricanes, who were also 12–0, and won the AP Poll by four votes, while Washington took the coaches’ poll by nine. Washington could not have played Miami in a bowl game because the Pac-10 champion was bound by contract to play in the Rose Bowl against the Big Ten champion. The Huskies soundly defeated no. 4 Michigan 34–14 in the 1992 Rose Bowl; the final score differential was narrowed by a late touchdown by Tyrone Wheatley of Michigan. With a minute remaining in the game, Washington was on the Michigan five-yard line but opted to stay on the ground and run out the clock with the third-string quarterback leading the offense.
Washington students, sports teams, and alumni are called Huskies. The husky was selected as the school mascot by student committee in 1923. It replaced the “Sun Dodger,” an abstract reference to the local weather that was quickly dropped in favor of something more tangible. The costumed “Harry the Husky” performs at sporting and special events, and a live Alaskan Malamute, currently named Dubs II, has traditionally led the football team onto the field at the start of games. The school colors of purple and gold were adopted in 1892 by student vote. The choice was purportedly inspired by the first stanza of Lord Byron’s The Destruction of Sennacherib.
College Sports Established
1915
Location
Seattle, Washington
College Name
University of Washington
Collegiate History
1973 – Present / NCAA Division 1
1915 – 1973 / University Division of the NCAA
Conference History
2010 – Present / PAC 12 Conference
1978 – 2010 / Pacific 10
1964 – 1978 / Pacific 8
1959 – 1964 / Athletic Association of Western Universities
1915 – 1959 / Pacific Coast Conference
Nickname
Huskies – Prior to 1920, the University of Washington had two unofficial mascots-first the Indians, and later the Vikings. Neither name seemed appropriate, so most local publications referred to the university’s athletic teams as the “purple and gold.” Midway through the scholastic year of 1920, the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) held general elections and voted to adopt “Sundodger” as its official mascot. The name was quickly adopted by the alumni’s publication, “Washington Alumnus,” which sported a smiling figure named Sunny holding an umbrella. Many people took Sundodger to be a negative reference to the city’s rainy weather. In 1922, after mounting pressure from local newspapers and businesses, the university considered finding a more suitable representative for the school.
A committee was formed by the ASUW to take on the daunting task of naming a new mascot. Many argued that Sundodger had no particular meaning, could not be characterized and reflected an untrue climatic condition of the state. The committee considered several mascots and took another look at the previously considered Husky as a potential winner. At a basketball game in early February 1922, the Husky was officially introduced as the new mascot.
NCAA Championships
Baseball 0
Men’s Basketball 0
Women’s Basketball 0
Football 4
1991, 1990, 1984, 1960
Soccer 0
