The 1968 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

1968 NCAA College Division football season The 1968 NCAA College Division football season was the 13th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the NCAA College Division level. Conference standings Rankings College Div ...

. The

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

were led by first-year head coach

Y C McNease Y C McNease (born c. 1936) is a former American college football coach. He was the head football coach at the University of Idaho for the 1968 and 1969 seasons. Playing career Born in Raleigh, Mississippi, McNease graduated from Leland High Sch ...

and played in 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 ...

. Home games were played on campus at

Neale Stadium Neale Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. Opened in 1937 for college football, it was used for over three decades, through the 1968 football s ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, with one home game 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 ...

at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College. This was the last season for Neale Stadium, which opened 31 years earlier in

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

. It hosted only two games in 1968, and the final one was a win over Weber State on November 2. Due to soil erosion, the wooden grandstands were deemed unsafe the following summer and home games were moved to Rogers Field in Pullman for two seasons. After fullback

Ray McDonald Raymondo Antoine McDonald (born September 2, 1984) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida, where he was a member o ...

won the NCAA rushing title in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, the Vandals were involuntarily dropped by the NCAA to the

college division The NCAA College Division was a historic subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) consisting of member schools competing at a lower level of college sports. The NCAA initially divided schools into a College Division and a ...

After two seasons, Idaho returned to the university division in 1969. For the second straight season, Idaho allowed 77 points at the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Schedule

Roster

All-conference

Wide receiver Jerry Hendren and linebacker Joe Tasby were unanimous selections to the all-conference team, and were joined by running back Rob Young.

NFL Draft

Two juniors from the 1968 Vandals were selected in the

1970 NFL Draft The 1970 National Football League Draft was the 35th National Football League Draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, 1 ...

, which lasted seventeen rounds (442 selections). *

List of Idaho Vandals in the NFL Draft This is a list of Idaho Vandals football players in the NFL Draft. Key Selections : Notes * Ken Hobart was selected in the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft,

References

External links

''Gem of the Mountains:'' 1969 University of Idaho yearbook
– 1968 football season
Go Mighty Vandals
– 1968 football season

– student newspaper – 1968 editions
Game program: Idaho vs. Washington State at Spokane
– September 21, 1968 {{Big Sky Conference football champions

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 Big Sky Conference football champion 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 ...