Upcoming Washington Huskies Football dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
Husky Stadium seat strategy for a Seattle Saturday
For Washington Huskies Football, the seat to target is a covered upper row on the south sideline, between the 30-yard lines. Husky Stadium, the Huskies' lakeside home on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, holds about 70,000, and close to seven in ten of them run along the two sidelines. The roofs over the sideline grandstands keep the upper rows dry, and the south side has the afternoon sun behind it.
- Wet forecast: a roofed row beats a closer row that is open to the weather.
- Sunny September afternoon: the south grandstand is the cooler side.
- Atmosphere: sit next to the Dawg Pack in the west end zone.
- Scenery: sit at the east end, which opens onto Lake Washington.
The Huskies host on fall Saturdays, September into November, and have been a Big Ten member since 2024, ending more than 100 years in the Pac-12 and the leagues before it, which Washington helped found.
Covered rows vs. open rows on the sideline grandstands
Husky Stadium has been the team's home since 1920. A rebuild completed in 2013 lowered the field, took out the running track and brought fans nearer the action. Picture a horseshoe: a tall stand on each sideline (north and south), a closed-in west end and an east end left open.
Cantilevered metal roofs cover part of each sideline grandstand. That shapes your choice in two ways:
- Rain: higher rows are sheltered, while the lowest rows of both grandstands get wet. In a Seattle November, that line matters more than a few yards of distance. Ask for a seat view or check the row before buying.
- Noise: the roofs hold crowd sound inside the bowl, which is why the stadium has a reputation as one of the loudest in college football. An ESPN reading of about 133.6 decibels during a 1992 night game with Nebraska is often called the loudest ever taken at a college football game; other accounts say 135.
Sources do not agree on capacity after the rebuild (anywhere from 70,138 to 72,132), so plan around roughly 70,000.
North side, south side and the stadium's tilt
The bowl opens toward the east, turned a little over 18 degrees toward the south, an orientation picked to keep early-afternoon sun out of the players' eyes. For fans, that has a simple effect on a clear afternoon:
- North grandstand: you look into the sun.
- South grandstand: the sun is behind you.
Early in the season, pick the south side or a roofed row to stay cool. Once October is well along, glare stops mattering and wet, chilly weather takes over, and the roof line becomes the deciding factor on both sides.
Dawg Pack end or lake end: the two end zones
West end zone
Students, known as the Dawg Pack, have stood here since the 2013 rebuild moved them off the north sideline. The sections next to them get the most noise. Buy here if you want to stand and yell; avoid it if you are bringing small children who need to sit.
East end zone
Field-level suites sit in a permanent building at this end, and beyond it the water stretches toward the Cascades, with Mount Rainier visible when the sky is clear. You give up the sideline angle, and the far end of the field is a long look, but the backdrop is the reason to sit here.
A visiting-fan section is not documented in the sources for this page, so ask the seller if sitting near your team matters.
Washington home dates that sell first
The two old rivals now land in different spots on the calendar.
- Washington State (the Apple Cup): because the Cougars are not in the Big Ten, this game now comes early. It is the 2026 home opener, on September 6 in Seattle.
- Oregon: the series dates to 1900 and moved with both programs to the Big Ten, taking over the last regular-season slot. In 2026 the Huskies play it away, in Eugene.
- Big Ten visitors with big followings: in 2026 that means Penn State and Indiana; in other seasons, a trip west by Michigan or Ohio State tops the list.
The rest of the 2026 home slate, as published by UW Athletics, includes Utah State, Eastern Washington, Minnesota and Iowa. A night kickoff makes the roofs even louder and lifts demand. Non-conference games against nearby schools leave the most choice.
Tyee Club priority and the UW resale market
Season seating runs through UW Athletics, and Tyee Club giving largely decides who gets the prime spots; along with single-game tickets and premium seating such as suites and club areas. Full-time students buy Dawg Pack season tickets, seated first come, first served and delivered to their phones.
Single seats for a non-conference date are usually there the week of the game. For the Apple Cup or a marquee conference visitor, roofed sideline rows are the first to vanish, and season holders reselling their seats are the usual source. Mobile delivery makes those transfers quick. Reserved Seat backs every order with a 100% guarantee.
Light rail, sailgating and the 2026 bag rules
Take Link light rail: the University of Washington station sits beside the stadium, a direct ride from downtown Seattle, and buses also run to Montlake. Game-day traffic around campus crawls, so if you must drive, buy parking ahead of time.
Some fans skip the road entirely. Sailgating means arriving by boat and tailgating on Lake Washington, and more than 12,000 people can gather on the water. Rowers from the UW crew program have ferried boaters ashore before games. Back on land, tailgaters pack the north and south lots, and the pregame builds around the Husky Marching Band and the fight song, Bow Down to Washington.
Under the bag rules that took effect for 2026, you may carry a single transparent bag (plastic, vinyl or PVC) no bigger than 12 by 6 by 12 inches or a clear gallon zip bag, and a small clutch of up to 4.5 by 6.5 inches. Leave purses, backpacks, fanny packs, camera or binocular cases, zippered seat cushions and any diaper bag that is not clear at home. A blanket draped over an arm is fine. Review the UW Athletics bag policy before you go.
A naming note: Alaska Airlines held the field's name from 2015 to 2026 and chose not to renew, so you may still see Alaska Airlines Field on older maps or listings.
Quarterback U, Don James and the Huskies' record book
Washington played an informal game in 1889 and fielded its first organized team in 1892. Two national championships are claimed. In 1960 the Huskies knocked off Minnesota, which the AP and UPI had already crowned, in Pasadena, and the Helms Athletic Foundation picked Washington. In 1991 an unbeaten 12–0 team topped Michigan in Pasadena and won the coaches' vote while Miami took the AP title.
Don James, coach from 1975 to 1992, collected four Rose Bowl wins plus an Orange Bowl, and a bronze of him greets fans in the stadium's northwest plaza. Earlier, Gil Dobie's teams from 1908 to 1916 built most of a 64-game unbeaten run that remains the FBS record. In 2023 Washington took the last Pac-12 Championship Game ever played, over Oregon, defeated Texas in the Sugar Bowl and finished 14–1 after falling to Michigan for the national title. Add 18 league championships, seven Rose Bowl victories and a long list of passers who went on to the NFL, and the Quarterback U label makes sense.
Huskies fans also claim the crowd wave, saying it started at a 1981 game with Stanford. The record is murky: a wave at a baseball playoff game in Oakland about two weeks before is better documented.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get a seat that stays dry at Husky Stadium?
Choose a high row on either sideline, beneath the roofs. Low sideline rows and both end zones have no cover.
Which Husky Stadium sideline is better on a sunny afternoon?
The south grandstand. Because the bowl opens east with a slight southern turn, south-side fans keep the sun at their backs while the north side looks into it.
How many people does Husky Stadium hold?
Figures for the rebuilt stadium run from 70,138 to 72,132 depending on the source; roughly 70,000 is a safe estimate.
What is sailgating?
It is tailgating from a boat. Fans anchor on Lake Washington beside the stadium, sometimes more than 12,000 of them, and come ashore for the game.
Is the Apple Cup still the last game of the season?
No. Oregon now closes the regular season, and the Apple Cup comes in September; the 2026 meeting is the Seattle home opener on September 6.