Washington’s 2013 football opener with Boise State in remodeled Husky Stadium has been moved up a week to Aug. 31, the school said Monday.
Construction has moved along fast enough that the move can be accommodated, apparently because Boise State wanted to schedule another opponent.
The diligent work and progress made to date by our development team of Wright Runstad & Co., Turner Construction, and 360 Architects has instilled great confidence that the Husky Stadium renovation will remain on time and on budget, Scott Woodward, UW director of athletics, said in a statement. Because of that confidence, we feel very comfortable pushing this game forward to a date which better serves both institutions.
A UW source said there was no television-revenue incentive yet to move the game, which is the Saturday of the Labor Day weekend. Most UW seasons have started after the holiday, although the 2012 opener in CenturyLink Field is Saturday, Sept. 1, two days ahead of Labor Day.
Boise State has booked Tennessee-Martin of the BCS-level Ohio Valley Conference for Sept. 7, according to the Tennessee school’s website. The date is now a bye for the Huskies, who play at Illinois Sept. 14 and complete their non-conference schedule against Idaho State Sept. 21. The conference portion of the 2013 schedule is yet to be announced.
Earlier this year to accommodate TV, Washington and Washington State agreed to push the Apple Cup in Pullman to Nov. 23, the Friday after the Thanksgiving holiday when WSU students are typically not in school.
Washington agreed in January, 2011, to a home-and-home series with Boise State. Washington will play in the Idaho capital for the first time in 2015.