Husky Basketball Team Will Support UW Football Brethren in Person

Mike Hopkins' players, in Las Vegas for a Saturday matchup, will attend the Pac-12 championship game involving Penix and Company.

When the Washington football team faces Oregon in Friday's Pac-12 championship game, the Huskies will have more than their usual supporters in the stands in Las Vegas.

UW basketball coach Mike Hopkins said his he and his team, which meets No. 20-ranked Colorado State on Saturday in the Nevada city, would arrive early in order to watch the Husky football team play for the conference championship under the leadership of coach Kalen DeBoer.

“You see this once in a lifetime and it’s pretty freaking special,” Hopkins said. “For all the Dawg fans out there, it's historic.”

Hopkins, who has coached at the school since 2016, has never had his team play in the same town on the same weekend as the UW football team, especially for a league championship.

While the Husky basketball coach and former UW football coach Chris Petersen, who won Pac-12 championship games in 2016 and 2018, developed a professional relationship, Hopkins says he has a different connection with DeBoer.

“He’s a phenomenal human being,” Hopkins said. “After walking away, you know how you meet somebody, and you feel like you’ve known them for 20 years? He’s about everybody else. He’s an amazing leader. Watching how he loves up his kids and all that, it’s what it’s all about.”

Uniquely enough, Hopkins has a former Oregon center playing for him in senior Franck Kepnang. The 6-foot-11 big man has been a promising inside presence for the basketball program since he transferred in prior to the 2022-23 season after spending two years in Eugene.

Similar to UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr., Kepnang is assumes the role of he quarterback for Hopkins' team, shouting out instructions to set up everyone defensively. There’s also the “Play Like Franck” mindset that evolved from Kepnang diving for loose balls and providing spark for the basketball team.

“I’m genuinely, truly a big fan of those guys,” Kepnang said of the UW football team. “When you see how hard they work, especially over the summer and where they’re trying to go, it’s nothing but motivation. It’s inspiring, honestly.”

Kepnang named Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillan, Edefuan Ulofoshio and Penix as UW football players who worked out with him over the summer in their preparation to chase a Pac-12 championship.

Hopkins, who has his team at 4-2 after beating UC San Diego on Tuesday, echoed the same sentiment about the impact the football program has had on him over the past 24 months since DeBoer took over.

“It’s inspiring to be honest with you,” the basketball coach said.

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