Move over, College Football 25: it’s World of Warcraft‘s turn to partner with college athletes in a crossover we never saw coming. Blizzard has announced a new partnership with the University of Washington in which the college will become the University of Warcraft for a week in the lead up to the Washington Huskies’ home finale against UCLA.
UW Football is collaborating with WoW to promise a “one-of-a-kind in-stadium experience” on Friday, with World of Warcraft mascots leading the team onto the field, a fan zone offering character meet-and-greets, and unique visuals for the stadium video board. Blizzard has also revealed a unique logo for its University of Warcraft collaboration, and has promised more unique WoW-themed graphics leading up to the game.
Blizzard is also getting some of the Washington Huskies team on board for the takeover, signing NIL (name, image, likeness) deals with players Carson Bruener, Denzel Boston, Jonah Coleman, Camden Simon, Adam Mohammad, Kamren Fabiculanan, Jacob Lane, Cameron Broussard, D’Angalo Titialli, Demond Williams Jr., and Will Rodgers. The players will be posting about the collab on social media to promote the Warcraft takeover–though its not clear if they’ll be making an appearance in the game itself.
“We are thrilled to unite interactive entertainment with the sports industry to celebrate 20 incredible years of World of Warcraft delighting millions of players worldwide,” said Blizzard head of marketing Monica Austin, as quoted by Sports Illustrated. “Our teams have been working together to create incredible in-person and broadcast experiences for fans, and we hope Husky Nation and World of Warcraft players alike are excited to WoW down to Washington.”
The Warcraft-themed game is taking place this Friday November 15 at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET at Husky Stadium in Seattle, and will be broadcast on Fox for anyone curious to see how this unexpected collaboration plays out.