For now, the Washington-Washington State cross-state rivalry is confirmed for the next two college football seasons, with one game at each stadium through 2028.
Beyond that, there are no binding agreements between the two Evergreen State schools to continue the Apple Cup game, which has existed annually since 1945 and began in 1900. On Friday, UW athletic director Pat Chun told 950-AM KJR that the schools could continue the traditional rivalry game beyond 2028 with mutual reasons for the game to remain on the schedule.
"Yes," Chun stated when asked about talks. "The talk was really, let's get through– let's see where the CFP ends or ends up because the 24-team playoff and specifically what the criteria for Power 4 schools to play other Power 4 schools would
be."
Next year, the Huskies will travel to Pullman, and the Cougars will head west to Seattle the following season, offering one potential final chance for each program at home to show why the game should stay beyond 2028 as a non-conference matchup.
Pat Chun confirms there have been discussions with WSU about extending the Apple Cup past 2028.
— Dave “Softy” Mahler (@Softykjr) November 7, 2026
"We see the value and importance of that game"
With the College Football Playoff anticipated to expand to 24 teams in the next few years and a potential Big Ten-SEC scheduling agreement, which would limit the number of non-conference games schools in both leagues could have outside of their respective conferences, there are more hurdles in UW's way to continue the Apple Cup than in the case for WSU.
"I don't know much about it not continuing on," head coach Jedd Fisch said before defeating first-year Cougars coach Kirby Moore 24-10 in early September. "I told our team, I don't know how many other games started in 1900. So I know that no one on our team ever played in a game that's that historical, unless it was the Washington-Washington State game. There's no other rivalry games that have gone on for that long that are played. So for us, it's very important."
UW has more than twice the number of wins as it has losses against WSU, boasting a 78-34-6 record in the Apple Cup with the Cougars never winning more than two consecutive games against the program.
Despite the high winning percentage against WSU, the chances of a defeat to a non-Power 4 team compared to, for instance, Tennessee or another SEC program don't carry the same weight, especially when viewed through the lens of the expanded CFP that isn't expected to penalize schools for facing tougher competition in non-conference play.
While this past September's 24-10 victory over WSU at Husky Stadium drew an average of 5.5 million viewers as a stand-alone Sunday game, the ratings can only be argued to a certain point when similar numbers could still come if the opponent were Alabama—certainly for the Kalen DeBoer factor—or one of Arkansas, Ole Miss, or Vanderbilt, the latter trio of which have never faced UW and may be even more attractive for the casual fan when it comes to how television companies look at the future of the sport.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Huskies AD Pat Chun Doesn't Rule Out Extending Apple Cup
