USATSI
Washington will fire coach Mike Hopkins after seven seasons, CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander confirmed Friday. Hopkins is expected to coach the Huskies through the postseason starting with next week’s Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas .
UW (17-14, 9-11) made just one NCAA Tournament appearance under Hopkins’ leadership, reaching the second round in 2019 as a No. 9 seed. The Huskies would need to win the Pac-12 Tournament to reach this year’s Big Dance. UW posted a 27-9 (15-3 Pac-12) mark in the 2018-19 campaign and won the outright Pac-12 title. But it proved to be the high-water mark as the Huskies have posted just one winning record in league play over the last five seasons.
The move comes as the Huskies are preparing for a transition to the Big Ten, which will put the program in a stronger league that requires several cross-country flights throughout conference play. It will also be the second hire of massive proportions for athletic director Troy Dannen, who assumed his role on Oct. 7, 2023.
Dannen hired Jedd Fisch from Arizona as Washington’s football coach after Kalen DeBoer left UW to replace Nick Saban at Alabama after leading the Huskies to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Entering the Pac-12 Tournament, Hopkins owns a mark of 118-105 (62-72 Pac-12). He arrived after spending more than two decades as a Syracuse assistant under Jim Boeheim. Once regarded as a potential successor to Boeheim, Hopkins’ candidacy for that position fizzled the last few seasons as Boeheim neared the end of his career. Ultimately, following Boeheim’s retirement, the Orange promoted assistant Adrian Autry, who has posted a 20-11 (11-9 ACC) mark so far in his first year.
