Big Ten's big benefits Big Ten's big benefits Big Ten's big benefits

September is always an exciting time at the University of Washington. Husky Football gets underway and fall classes are about to start. This year, however, a different kind of excitement is in the air. The UW is a new member of the Big Ten Conference, meaning the UW and Husky Athletics is now part of a league of nationally renowned heavyweights in both academics and athletics.

A few things aren’t changing. The Huskies will maintain their long-standing West Coast rivalries with Oregon, UCLA and USC, who also joined the Big Ten.

The most talked-about benefit of this new configuration is how Husky Athletics needs more sustainable financial support (via the Big Ten’s TV contracts) to remain a powerhouse in the evolving world of college sports. What isn’t nearly as well-known is how joining the Big Ten opens doors on many academic fronts to create new partnerships and collaborations with such prominent universities as Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and others in the Big Ten Academic Alliance.

“There are tremendous opportunities for us, and I was struck how excited the deans were about [joining the Big Ten],” UW Provost Tricia Serio says.

Those opportunities are eye-opening and far-ranging. For instance, the Big Ten has a series of leadership development programs for deans, faculty and chairs. There’s a consortium of global affairs programs at the 18 Big Ten schools, and long-running programs where provosts, leaders from engineering and arts and sciences and student services get together to discuss the challenges and opportunities in their fields. Moreover, there’s an alliance of the universities’ library programs, which will provide an incredible array of advantages to students, faculty, staff and alumni. The Big Ten libraries hold 145 million volumes and 25% of all print titles in North America. That means more access to scholarly research materials and big discounts when it comes to subscribing to scientific journals, a major concern for universities nationwide.

Another benefit is in joining the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium. “In cancer research, participation in collaborative efforts really means more opportunities,” says Evan Yu, medical oncologist at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center and professor in the UW School of Medicine’s Division of Hematology and Oncology. “It provides connections to others who are working on cancer discoveries and more exposure to emerging research and clinical trials, all of which can spark breakthroughs. It also provides investigators with opportunities for additional mentorship.”

In the big picture, Serio says, the UW has joined its peers when it comes to graduation rates, referring to the Big Ten’s 84% graduation rate—20 points above the national average. “We share the same level of prestige, opportunities and priorities, so we are really aligned with a group of peers,” Serio says. “The Big Ten is the national model.” Rickey Hall, the UW’s vice president for minority affairs and diversity and University diversity officer, says all 18 institutions’ senior diversity officers already meet regularly to network and discuss vital issues.

When the UW joined the Big Ten Conference, the well-known ‘Maps’ commercial created by the creative studio Carbon was playfully updated to include UW landmarks and elements of the Northwest landscape.

While most of the publicity around finalizing the UW’s move to the Big Ten has been about athletics’ need to secure better financial footing, Kim Durand, deputy athletic director of student services and senior woman administrator, says that was not the only reason for joining the Big Ten. The ability to collaborate with the 17 other institutions on matters related to athletics and student issues will be a particularly huge benefit as the college sports world continues to deal with major challenges.

“It makes even more sense beyond athletics,” she says. “It’s the premier academic conference outside of the Ivy League.”

On Aug. 2, the day the Huskies officially joined the Big Ten, UW Athletic Director Pat Chun said it was “a momentous day. … We’re honored to be a part of the Big Ten Conference. I tell people when you walk around our campus, we are a Big Ten school, this is where we are supposed to be, and we feel we can impact our young people the best by putting them on the biggest stage possible.”

Fans and supporters of the UW are just as excited about this new era for the Huskies. Dow Constantine, ’85, ’89, ’92, has attended every UW home football game since Nov. 7, 1969. In a recent Seattle Times op-ed, he wrote, “It was undoubtedly the right move for securing the future of Husky Athletics. And our affiliation with the Big Ten has a long and rich history born of years of tough competition across all sports. … Additionally, the conference shares our commitment to academic excellence and groundbreaking research.”

UW President Ana Mari Cauce is thrilled about the new era. “We are committed to developing student-athletes who thrive not only in competition on the field, but in the classroom and throughout their lives, and our new conference shares those values. This change has opened up opportunities not only for our students, but for our whole University to forge new partnerships and collaborations with many of the nation’s other leading research universities.”