Washington Huskies

Washington Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington's athletic teams. The school is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. The athletic program is made up of 9 men's sports (baseball, basketball, crew, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, track and field) and 10 women's sports (basketball, crew, cross country, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, volleyball).

Among its facilities on campus are Husky Stadium (football and track & field), Hec Edmundson Pavilion (basketball, gymnastics and volleyball), Husky Ballpark (baseball), Husky Softball Stadium (softball), the Nordstrom Tennis Center, the Dempsey Indoor practice facility, and the Conibear Shellhouse (rowing). The golf team's home course is at the Washington National Golf Club in Auburn.

UW 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, has traditionally led the UW 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:

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;
And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.