A conversation with Pat Chun as Washington becomes official Big Ten member
Today is the day.
The past few months have seen a series of heartfelt goodbyes as the Pac-12’s disintegration commenced.
There was the last Pac-12 football championship game, and the last Pac-12 basketball tournaments, and the last Pac-12 baseball tournament. The Pac-12 Networks feed went dark a month ago. Washington is in the process of outfitting its playing surfaces with Big Ten branding in place of the trusty Pac-12 logo, to say nothing of more arduous (and expensive) facilities upgrades.
It’s been nearly a full year since Washington and Oregon made the decision to leave their home conference for the Big Ten — and more than two years since USC and UCLA announced their own departures — but the four schools didn’t become official members of their new league until today.
I sat down with UW athletic director Pat Chun on Thursday to discuss the Huskies’ Big Ten future. Questions and responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.