The past three meetings between Washington and UCLA have been celebrations, with two of the nation's most prominent black coaches -- Tyrone Willingham and Karl Dorrell -- going head to head.
The games marked the only conference clashes of two black coaches in the country.
On Dec. 3, UCLA fired Dorrell after he went 35-27 in five years. On Oct. 27, Washington let Willingham go with a year left on his contract.
A week later, Kansas State decided it would not be welcoming back coach Ron Prince, who is black.
That fast, the number of black head coaches in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision dropped to four -- representing just 3 percent of the FBS' head coaches and marking the lowest total in 15 years.
The Black Coaches Association released its annual report card Wednesday and concluded minorities are getting more interviews, but still are not getting enough jobs in college football.
UCLA replaced Dorrell with Rick Neuheisel, but did interview defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker, who is black.
Saturday, Willingham will coach his third-to-last game at Washington as athletic director Scott Woodward is searching for his replacement.
"(Diversity is) always a big issue, whether I was in my vice president job or head of the athletic department," Woodward said. "Diversity is very important and key to the way we run our department."
When asked if he will interview a minority candidate, Woodward said, "We usually do, but we're going to hire the best person available -- and there will likely be minority candidates in that pool."
After then-athletic director Todd Turner hired Tia Jackson to coach the women's basketball team in April 2007, Washington was the only Division I program in the country to have black coaches at the helm of the football and men's and women's basketball teams.
That is likely to change despite Woodward's comments. The projected lists of candidates do not include any minorities, but Woodward has been completely silent about what that list really looks like.
Willingham can only hope the number of minority head coaches goes up -- both from a personal standpoint and from a cultural one.
"We've battled this for some time -- the issue of African-American coaches at this level," Willingham said. "And at no point has it been where it should be. The representation is far short of where it should be, and that hurts all of us.
"When you have talented people that have the ability to help us do the things we'd like to do better, you are missing that. And that's a shame."
Willingham, who is the president of the American Football Coaches Association, said something like the NFL's "Rooney Rule" would be beneficial.
Established in 2003, the Rooney Rule -- named after Pittsburgh Steelers owner and head of the league's diversity committee Dan Rooney -- requires that every hiring franchise interview at least one minority candidate.
"That would be the first step, and it would be a lot harder to do at the collegiate level, but there are ways to do it," Willingham said. "All you are asking is for the opportunity to sit down at the table, and that benefits us all."
The NCAA, however, has no authority to impose a standard hiring procedure.
"The NCAA does not hire coaches," said Charlotte Westerhaus, NCAA vice president of diversity and inclusion.
"The athletic directors are responsible for hiring and thus responsible for the hiring process and results."
Black Coaches Association executive coach director Floyd Keith said, "In the world of college football, the facts and statistics reflect an unmistakable bias and a systemic problem that has yet to be fixed. My deep concern is, 'Why are the college football hiring practices out of sync?' "
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