EWU will play Huskies in 2011

Eastern Washington University, in keeping with its recent trend of playing non-conference football games against Pacific-10 Conference teams, has agreed to open its 2011 season with a Sept. 3 matchup against the University of Washington at Husky Stadium in Seattle. The game will mark the first meeting between the two schools. “We truly appreciate the opportunity to play the University of Washington in 2011,” said EWU athletic director Bill Chaves. “During these challenging economic times, we have looked to reduce expenses wherever possible, and playing one of our non-conference games in state will no doubt help to achieve that objective.” The addition of the game against Eastern was one of several changes UW made to its future schedules, which will now include home-and-away series against Hawaii and Wisconsin. “I think it will be a great thing for the Pacific Northwest to play a team like Eastern Washington that has a solid regional appeal,” said Steve Sarkisian, the Huskies’ first-year head coach. Eastern also announced it will open the 2010 season with a Sept. 4 game against Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore.