However, a lot has happened since the last time the public got a look at the Washington Huskies’ football and men’s basketball teams.

Here is a quick update on 20 offseason issues, in no particular order:

Administrative

1. UW’s athletic director position remains open. The general timetable for naming Todd Turner’s successor by spring has now slipped into summer and could reach into fall and beyond. Acting AD Scott Woodward continues to handle the duties while president Mark Emmert’s search committee continues its work in secrecy.

2. Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen announced he will end his 26-year reign after the coming academic year. The search for his successor has begun, but Hansen cautions that it is the university presidents – not the league commissioner – who drive the conference’s position on high-profile matters such as expansion or college football playoffs.

3. The addition of the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego gives the Pac-10 seven bowl affiliations for the coming season. That should assure that no bowl-eligible Pac-10 team will sit home through the holidays.

4. The Pac-10 won 13 NCAA titles in 2007-08, one short of its own NCAA record.

5. UW finished 22nd nationally in the Director’s Cup, which measures overall athletic success.

Football

6. Despite the lack of an athletic director, UW signed a two-game contract with Louisiana State. The defending national champions will visit Husky Stadium in 2009, and UW will visit Tiger Stadium in 2012.

7. Quarterback Jake Locker played 10 summer baseball games with the Bellingham Bells, ending with a .272 batting average and one home run. More importantly, he says he had fun. And most importantly, he remains healthy.

8. Several national magazines and Web sites list Tyrone Willingham among the coaches on the hottest of hot seats this season. Conventional wisdom says he will need a winning season to return for the fifth and final year of his current contract.

9. Most of the preseason football magazines seem skeptical, typically picking UW seventh, eighth or ninth in the Pac-10.

10. This may or may not be related, but UW is the only Pac-10 football team with no known oral commitments for its next recruiting class.

11. UW center Juan Garcia says his injured foot is healing ahead of schedule, giving him hope that he could be ready to play by early fall.

12. The scholarships of tailback J.R. Hasty and cornerback Jordan Murchison weren’t renewed, prematurely ending their disappointing UW careers.

13. The university reports that season ticket sales are modestly ahead of last season’s pace.

Basketball

14. Coach Lorenzo Romar’s basketball team is two oral commitments ahead of the football team. Forward Charles Garcia and guard C.J. Wilcox already account for half of the 2009 class that will try to complement the nationally ranked class of 2008.

15. A full scholarship allotment for the coming season means that guard Joel Smith will not return despite having one season of eligibility remaining. The good news is that Smith has completed his undergraduate degree requirements.

16. This season’s incoming freshmen – including guard Isaiah Thomas of Tacoma – have all qualified academically. However, forward Tyreese Breshers could be slowed by a shin injury.

17. Otherwise the team’s health is good. Forward Jon Brockman has returned to the court after offseason ankle surgery, while forward Artem Wallace (knee) and center Joe Wolfinger (foot) are expected to be ready for the season.

18. Lute Olson has returned as head coach at Arizona, while three Pac-10 teams will be playing under new leadership. California replaced longtime coach Ben Braun with former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. Stanford brought in Johnny Dawkins to replace Trent Johnson, who bolted to LSU. And cellar-dwelling Oregon State will start its rebuilding under Craig Robinson, who moved up from Brown.

19. A record seven Pac-10 players were taken in the first round of the NBA draft, and 12 were drafted overall. The departure of players such as O.J. Mayo from Southern California, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love from UCLA, and Brook and Robin Lopez from Stanford seems to create an opportunity for the veteran Huskies to surge back into the league’s first division.

20. UW also could get a boost from the 2008-09 schedule, which was released Tuesday. The Huskies’ only out-of-conference road game is the season-opener at Portland. There are a pair of likely RPI-boosting neutral-court games in the CBE Classic in Kansas City, Mo. And the rest are at home. Then, if the Huskies can weather a four-game road trip near the middle of Pac-10 play, there is the chance for a strong stretch drive with five of the final seven games at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Don Ruiz: 253-597-8808

blogs.thenewstribune.com/uwsports

Huskies football

DateOpponentTime

8-30at Oregon7 p.m.

9-6Brigham YoungNoon

9-13Oklahoma4:45 p.m.

9-27StanfordTBA

10-4at ArizonaTBA

10-18Oregon State4 p.m.

10-25Notre Dame5 p.m.

11-1at Southern CaliforniaTBA

11-8Arizona StateTBA

11-15UCLATBA

11-22at WSUNoon

12-6at CaliforniaTBA