At the University of Washington, Sanford played for the Washington Huskies.[1] He played three seasons with the team before he entered the 1997 NBA Draft.
 Originally, Sanford had intended to declare for the 1996 NBA Draft, but he withdrew his name from consideration.
 He played a total of 82 games for the Huskies scoring 1319 career point.

It did not take Sanford long to get into the Husky record books by scoring 15 points as a true Freshman in the 1st game/start of his career.
 In doing so he amassed the most points ever by a player in their 1st game.
 He was the fastest Husky to score 500 points doing so in just 32 games.
 He amassed 27 career 20+ point games and scored his career high of 35 points twice against USC and Jackson State, both during his sophomore year.

Sanford led the huskies in both scoring and rebounding in his Sophomore and Junior seasons.
In his true Freshman year, he led all Pac-10 Freshman in scoring and rebounding with 14.5ppg, 5.7rpg.
After his Freshman year he was invited to try out for the Under 19 Junior World Games in Athens, Greece.
 At the trials amongst other notable player such as Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Kerry Kittles, Vince Carter, Stephon Marbury, Tim Duncan, and Marcus Camby, Sanford finished in the top 3 in 5 statistical categories (1st-scoring, 1st-steals, 2nd blocks, 2nd-FGP, 3rd-rebounds) becoming the first player to rank as high since Charles Barkley who finished number 1 in the same five categories.

He is the first player to ever leave the University of Washington early for the NBA draft.
He was ranked 13th on Washington's all-time scoring list after only 3 seasons and 82 games played.
He was Washington's most recognizable Husky since Detlef Schrempf.
He was the Huskies' Shawn Kemp - a crowd-pleasing, high-flying dunker capable of bringing fans out of their homes on a rainy December evening and into Edmundson Pavilion.

During Sanford's tenure at Washington, season-ticket sales increased nearly 11.8 percent.
Prior to his sophomore season, Washington sold 3,261 men's season tickets.
His junior season, 3,701 were sold.
Twelve Washington games appeared on cable television, while two aired on network TV.
The Huskies sold-out home crowds against top-ranked Cincinnati, No.
11 Arizona and No.
13 UCLA.

When asked about the support and exposure for the program Sanford stated, "We've finally got the exposure this year after years when nobody cared too much about Washington basketball."
He went on to say, "Now that we got the exposure and expectations, we need to win."

For his career he was a two-time first-team All-Pac-10 selection and first-team All-Freshman.
He was also an All-American selection following his Junior year.
 He's scored 1,000 points faster than any other Washington player, but his place in UW history is largely unknown.
When his career ended, he became widely remembered for his role in reviving Husky men's basketball.
 With one step he was known to have a 41-inch leap, able to reach as high as 12 feet 4 inches.
At the University of Washington, Sanford played for the Washington Huskies.[1] He played three seasons with the team before he entered the 1997 NBA Draft.  Originally, Sanford had intended to declare for the 1996 NBA Draft, but he withdrew his name from consideration.  He played a total of 82 games for the Huskies scoring 1319 career point.
It did not take Sanford long to get into the Husky record books by scoring 15 points as a true Freshman in the 1st game/start of his career.  In doing so he amassed the most points ever by a player in their 1st game.  He was the fastest Husky to score 500 points doing so in just 32 games.  He amassed 27 career 20+ point games and scored his career high of 35 points twice against USC and Jackson State, both during his sophomore year.
Sanford led the huskies in both scoring and rebounding in his Sophomore and Junior seasons. In his true Freshman year, he led all Pac-10 Freshman in scoring and rebounding with 14.5ppg, 5.7rpg. After his Freshman year he was invited to try out for the Under 19 Junior World Games in Athens, Greece.  At the trials amongst other notable player such as Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Kerry Kittles, Vince Carter, Stephon Marbury, Tim Duncan, and Marcus Camby, Sanford finished in the top 3 in 5 statistical categories (1st-scoring, 1st-steals, 2nd blocks, 2nd-FGP, 3rd-rebounds) becoming the first player to rank as high since Charles Barkley who finished number 1 in the same five categories.
He is the first player to ever leave the University of Washington early for the NBA draft. He was ranked 13th on Washington's all-time scoring list after only 3 seasons and 82 games played. He was Washington's most recognizable Husky since Detlef Schrempf. He was the Huskies' Shawn Kemp - a crowd-pleasing, high-flying dunker capable of bringing fans out of their homes on a rainy December evening and into Edmundson Pavilion.
During Sanford's tenure at Washington, season-ticket sales increased nearly 11.8 percent. Prior to his sophomore season, Washington sold 3,261 men's season tickets. His junior season, 3,701 were sold. Twelve Washington games appeared on cable television, while two aired on network TV. The Huskies sold-out home crowds against top-ranked Cincinnati, No. 11 Arizona and No. 13 UCLA.
When asked about the support and exposure for the program Sanford stated, "We've finally got the exposure this year after years when nobody cared too much about Washington basketball." He went on to say, "Now that we got the exposure and expectations, we need to win."
For his career he was a two-time first-team All-Pac-10 selection and first-team All-Freshman. He was also an All-American selection following his Junior year.  He's scored 1,000 points faster than any other Washington player, but his place in UW history is largely unknown. When his career ended, he became widely remembered for his role in reviving Husky men's basketball.  With one step he was known to have a 41-inch leap, able to reach as high as 12 feet 4 inches.
Mark Sanford (basketball)