At Monday’s CFP National Championship Game in Houston, Husky Nation turned out, proud in purple and gold, and cheering on a UW team that was undefeated this season. Tens of thousands of fans packed NRG Stadium – some fresh off the Huskies’ Sugar Bowl win in New Orleans – and stayed to the end. Though UW lost to Michigan, as one fan said, “We’ll get there again.”
Holly Barker, a University of Washington teaching professor of anthropology, and three current members of the UW football team — Ulumoo Ale, Makell Esteen and Faatui Tuitele — are studying how the skills they develop to maximize their chances of victory on the field have applications outside the stadium. Their work, which is ongoing, is showing that the research methods and analytical abilities of student-athletes are applicable in academic and research settings, as well as jobs in a variety of fields.
Husky football players, including Myles Gaskin and JoJo McIntosh, mentor teens each week as part of a program hosted by the Yesler Community Center in Seattle.