The football programs from Eastern Washington University and the University of Washington have confirmed that they will continue a recent series of games between the Eagles and Huskies in 2026 and 2028.
 
The Eagles will visit Seattle on either Sept. 5, 12 or 19 in 2026, and return three years later on Sept. 2, 9 or 16 in 2028. A member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Eastern played the Huskies three times from 2011 to 2019. Washington, coached by former Eastern player and coach Jimmy Lake, is a member of the NCAA Football Championship Bowl Subdivision.
 
The meetings with the Huskies are always favorites for EWU players, coaches and their family and friends. The Eagles currently have 93 players on their 2020-21 roster, and 64 of them – 69 percent – are from the state of Washington. Eastern's coaching staff is Washington-based as well, with eight of the team's 10 full-time coaches (80 percent) hailing from the Evergreen State. Head coach Aaron Best a 1996 graduate of Curtis High School in Tacoma, Wash.
 
Eastern lost the 2019 meeting with Washington 47-14 when EWU entered the game ranked fourth in FCS and the Huskies ranked as high as 12th in FBS. But the previous two meetings were nailbiters.
 
In 2014 when the Eagles were ranked second in FCS and the Huskies were 25th in FBS, Eastern lost 59-52. That came just one season after the Eagles upset nationally-ranked Oregon State 49-46 on the road in 2013. In 2011, the Eagles fell at Washington by a slim 30-27 score after entering that game as the defending champions in FCS and No. 1 ranked in the nation.
 
Since the early 1980's when it began the move to become a member of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (in 1984), Eastern is now 10-27 all-time versus Football Bowl Subdivision teams. Against current Pac-12 Conference members, EWU is now 2-11 (2-13 including losses to Washington State in 1907 and 1908), including a 49-46 upset of 25th-ranked Oregon State in 2013 and a 45-42 win over Washington State in 2016.
 
Eastern has won three of its last 10 games versus FBS foes. A 35-17 win over Connecticut on Sept. 8, 2001, snapped a five-game losing streak versus FBS foes, then a 20-3 win at Idaho in 2012 snapped a 10-game skid.
 
Besides the Huskies, Eastern is scheduled to play three other FBS schools in the next three seasons. Eastern will play at UNLV on Sept. 2, 2021, Oregon on Sept. 3, 2022 and Fresno State on Sept. 9, 2023. Eastern was scheduled to play at Florida on Sept. 5, 2020, but that game was wiped out because of the Covid-19 pandemic and Eastern has continued negotiations to get the Gators back on EWU's schedule in a future year.