The 1994 Idaho Vandals football team represented the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

in the

1994 NCAA Division I-AA football season The 1994 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level, began in August 1994, and concluded with the 1994 NCAA Division I-AA ...

. The Vandals, led by sixth-year head coach John L. Smith, were members of the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

and played their home games at the

Kibbie Dome The William H. Kibbie-ASUI Activity Center (commonly known as the Kibbie Dome) is a multi-purpose indoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. It is the home of the Idaho V ...

, an indoor facility on campus in

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city in North Central Idaho, United States. Located along the state border with Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 census. The county seat and largest city of Latah County, Moscow is the home of the Universit ...

. Led by quarterbacks Eric Hisaw and Brian Brennan, Idaho finished the regular season at 9–2 and 5–2 in the Big Sky, and the Vandals again made the Division I-AA playoffs.

Notable games

After advancing to the semifinals in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, Idaho was ranked tenth in the preseason I-AA poll, won their first seven games, and climbed to third in late October. They traveled to

Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

and top-ranked

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

won the

Little Brown Stein The Little Brown Stein is a rivalry trophy awarded to the winner of the college football game between the University of Idaho Vandals and the University of Montana Grizzlies. The trophy is, as the name implies, a large stein mug with the results ...

for the fourth consecutive year. The Grizzlies then lost two in a row to fall to third in the Big Sky standings. In the regular season finale for the conference title, the Vandals lost to

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

for first time since

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, as the Broncos won in

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area's ...

Division I-AA playoffs

For the ninth time in ten seasons, the Vandals made the 16-team I-AA playoffs and were ranked sixth in the regular season's final poll. With Boise State and Montana hosting, Idaho was sent on the road in the first round, and they lost at fifth-ranked

McNeese State McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu ...

. Montana advanced to the semifinals but fell to

Youngstown State Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges an ...

, who defeated Boise State in the championship game.

Notable players and coaches

Sophomore defensive end

Ryan Phillips Ryan Phillips (born November 15, 1982) is the defensive coordinator for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and a former professional Canadian football defensive back. He played most of his career with the BC Lions, where he has ...

was a four-year starter; he moved to outside linebacker as a senior in 1996, and was selected in the third round of the

1997 NFL Draft The 1997 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 19–20, 1997, at the Paramount T ...

by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. He played five seasons in the NFL, including

Super Bowl XXXV Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

in January

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

. Two future Vandal head coaches were on the staff:

Nick Holt Nicholas Holt VSpokesman-Review'' - Washington State Employee Salaries - Assistant football coach employees - Univ. of Washington - 2010 compensation - accessed 2011-12-31 (born October 15, 1962) is an American football coach who is currently the ...

(defensive coordinator/defensive line) and

Paul Petrino Paul Vincent Petrino (born May 25, 1967) is an American football coach, currently the offensive coordinator at Central Michigan University. He was previously the head football coach for nine seasons at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. ...

(receivers). This was Smith's final year as head coach at Idaho and his 53 wins leads the Vandals' all-time list;

Dennis Erickson Dennis Brian Erickson (born March 24, 1947) is an American football coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Salt Lake Stallions of the Alliance of American Football league. He was also the head coach at the University of Idaho ( ...

is next, with 36 in five seasons.

Schedule

References

External links

''Gem of the Mountains:'' 1995 University of Idaho yearbook
– 1994 football season {{1994 Division I-AA football playoff navbox

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

Idaho Vandals football seasons

Idaho Vandals football The Idaho Vandals are the college football team that represents the University of Idaho and plays its home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho. Idaho is a member of the Big Sky Conference in the Football Cham ...