Washington Huskies coach Jedd Fisch is never one to mince words when it comes to discussing his feelings about the present and future of college football.
Even after openly accusing other programs of tampering in an interview on the Triple Option podcast, the third-year head coach believes that the sport is in a great place as the new world of Name, Image, and Likeness continues to infuse money into programs across the nation.
Advertisement
“For five years, we’ve said it’s not sustainable, and it’s sustained,” Fisch said in an interview with Yahoo Sports.
“Not only has it sustained, it’s grown, and not only has it grown, it’s multiplied…I remember in 2021 being told this whole NIL stuff will go away within a year, then I was told donors will stop giving, then I was told there’s no way they’ll be able to regulate it. We’re now five years in, college football is thriving, everybody’s talking about it, the games are incredible.”
In Fisch’s first two years at the helm, the Huskies have managed a 15-11 record, but partially thanks to NIL, as the Huskies have thrived on the recruiting trail since he took over, pulling in the highest-ranked recruiting class in school history in 2026—No. 13 according to 247Sports—and have followed that up with the No. 23 class in 2027.
Advertisement
As the Huskies continue to operate on a half share of the Big Ten’s media rights deal, Fisch has also continued to urge Washington’s fan and donor bases to get involved on a larger basis to help close that gap and compete with the conference’s biggest spenders.
“We’re still trying to educate the Pacific Northwest outside of Oregon’s Nike deal, but for us, it’s really about trying to get the donor base and the alumni base to understand the financial commitment to be in the Big Ten,” Fisch said on the Triple Option.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Jedd Fisch believes college football is in a great place
