The Eastern Washington Eagles football team represents

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington. It also offers programs at a campus in EWU Spokane at the Riverpoint Campus and other campus locations throughout the state. Founded in 1882, the university is ...

in the

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

. The Eastern Eagles are 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 play at

Roos Field Roos Field is an outdoor college football stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington, southwest of Spokane. It is the home venue of the Eastern Washington Eagles of the Big Sky ...

, which is known for being the only stadium in college football with a red playing surface.

History

Beginning & NAIA era

Eastern Washington University began fielding a football team in 1901, when the school was known at the time as the 'State Normal School' and the team mascot was the 'Savages'. Eastern's first national affiliation came with joining the NAIA. Eastern competed in the NAIA until 1977, along the way advancing to the

NAIA Football National Championship The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Football National Championship is decided by a post-season playoff system featuring the best NAIA college football teams in the United States. Under sponsorship of the National Associa ...

finals in 1967, losing to Fairmont State 28-21. This marked Eastern Washington's first appearance in a national championship game at any level of competition.

Identity changes

During this time period, the school would undergo numerous changes to its identity. The school name would change in 1937 to the 'Eastern Washington College of Education', then again in 1962 to 'Eastern Washington State College'. The final change to the school name came in 1977 when the school was renamed 'Eastern Washington University'. In 1973, the student body voted to make Eastern's mascot the 'Eagles'. Shortly before that, the Eastern Board of Trustees declared 'Savages', its mascot through its first 92 years, no longer acceptable. Eagles are native to

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanfor ...

and thus a logical choice for a replacement.

Transition to NCAA and Big Sky

Eastern joined the NCAA in 1978, and participated at the Division II level as an independent until 1984, when they moved up to

Division I-AA The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...

(now FCS), also as an independent. Denied membership to the

in May 1985, Eastern was extended an invitation in December 1986 to join, starting in July 1987. Eastern continues to participate in the Big Sky to this day and is now the sixth-most tenured member of the conference.

Red Turf and National Championship

The 2010 season would mark a number of firsts for Eastern Washington's football program. The offseason would see a highly publicized move to install a red turf playing surface, the first of its kind in the country. Eastern would utilize the excitement and energy surrounding the program to complete its finest season of competition in the program's history. The 2010 season concluded with Eastern Washington's first appearance in the FCS Championship Game. Led by the head coach

Beau Baldwin Beau Daniel Baldwin (born May 21, 1972) is an American football coach and former player. He is the offensive coordinator at Arizona State. Previously, He was the head football coach at California Polytechnic State University, a position he held f ...

the Eagles defeated the

Delaware Blue Hens The Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens are the athletic teams of the University of Delaware of Newark, Delaware, in the United States. The Blue Hens compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of Division I of the National Collegiate Athl ...

20–19 in

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...

to win the school's first national championship in football.

Championships

National championships

Eastern Washington has won one

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in the FCS.

Conference championships

Eastern Washington has won 26 conference championships since 1901, including ten in the

. † Co–champions

Playoff appearances

NAIA Playoffs

Eastern Washington made one appearance in the NAIA playoffs in 1967. They advanced to the NAIA Champions Bowl in

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...

, where they lost to Fairmont State. The Savages finished with a 1–1 record in NAIA playoff play. :

Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs

Eastern Washington has fifteen appearances in the I-AA/FCS playoffs since moving up to the division in 1984, with an overall record of . Their first appearance occurred the

next year "Next Year" is a song released as the last single from the third Foo Fighters' album ''There Is Nothing Left to Lose''. History A shorter version (running at just 3:21 compared to the original's 4:36) was released as a single in 2000 and wa ...

, when they advanced to the quarterfinals as an independent. The Eagles' best finish came during the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

season, when they won the

Head coaches

:Note: Eastern Washington did not field teams from 1910 to 1911, 1917 to 1919, and 1943 to 1945.

Home stadium

The EWU football team plays at

, opened in 1967 and recently expanded and renovated in 2004 and 2010 to seat 11,702. The stadium was originally named Woodward Field in honor of former Eagles head football and basketball coach Arthur C. Woodward. It replaced the original Woodward Field, which was located near the present JFK Library.

Red turf installation and name change

On February 26, 2010,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

reported that Eastern Washington planned to remove the natural grass surface at Woodward Field and replace it with red SprinTurf, the first of its kind, at any level of American football. A funding drive was initiated in late January 2010, with EWU alumnus

Michael Roos Michael Roos (born Mihkel Roos, October 5, 1982) is a former football offensive tackle who played his entire career for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Titans in the second round of the 2005 NFL ...

donating $500,000 toward the installation costs, and fellow alumnus and ESPN personality

Colin Cowherd Colin Murray Cowherd (born January 6, 1964) is an American sports media personality. Cowherd began his broadcasting career as sports director of Las Vegas television station KVBC and as a sports anchor on several other stations before joining ...

also making a donation. On May 20, 2010 the Eastern Washington Board of Trustees approved a name change to Roos Field, scheduled for the 2010 season, upon the successful completion of the project. Installation of the red synthetic turf was completed in September 2010, in time for the first home game of the 2010 season against

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 ...

The Inferno

Eastern Washington's red playing surface is known as The Inferno. The nickname was chosen through a vote conducted by Eastern on its athletic website, goeags.com. Voting began on August 4, 2010 and allowed fans to choose from seven proposed names: red sea, red zone, inferno, big red, red carpet, ring of fire and lava pit. Inferno finished as the top choice and the nickname was revealed at the first home game with the new field on September 18, 2010.

Rivalries

Montana

The

EWU–UM Governors Cup The EWU–UM Governors Cup is the college football rivalry game between the University of Montana Grizzlies and the Eastern Washington University Eagles, both members of the Big Sky Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). ...

is the game against conference rival

, usually played in mid-season in October, alternating between

in Cheney and

Washington–Grizzly Stadium Washington–Grizzly Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. Opened in 1986, it is home to the Montana Grizzlies, a member of the Big S ...

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 ...

. The Eagles currently trail in the overall series with 17 wins, 27 losses, and a tie; it became the Governors Cup in 1998 for the 25th meeting and Montana also leads that series at through

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

. The Cup was originally contested between EWU and 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 ...

, from 1984 through 1997.

Portland State

The Eagles also have a new rivalry with the

Portland State Vikings Portland State Vikings is the nickname of the NCAA-affiliated, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Portland State University of Portland, Oregon. The Vikings compete at the NCAA Division I level in basketball, soccer, volleyball, golf, ...

in all sports, starting in 2010 called The Dam Cup. Eastern football won the first rivalry match between the two schools in 2010 with a score of 55-17. The purpose of the Dam Cup is to create a rivalry between Portland State University and Eastern Washington University and provide a sense of pride between alumni in the Portland and Spokane areas. Other goals include increasing attendance at events between both schools and building school spirit among each institutions' student body. † The Governors Cup rivalry with Montana was officially established in 1998, but both teams have played against each other since the date listed above.
‡ The Dam Cup rivalry with Portland State was officially established in 2010, but both teams have played against each other since the date listed above.

Individual award winners

The following Eastern Washington players have been recipients of the noted conference and national award honors.

National award winners – players

* Buck Buchanan Award :''National Defensive Player of the Year'' :2008:

Greg Peach Greg Peach (born November 19, 1986) is a professional Canadian football defensive end who is currently a free-agent. He was most recently a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He was originally signed by the Edmonton Eskimos as a street free age ...

:2010: J. C. Sherritt *

Jerry Rice Award The Jerry Rice Award is awarded annually in the United States to the most outstanding freshman player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports inf ...

:''National Freshman Player of the Year'' :2013:

Cooper Kupp Cooper Douglas Kupp (born June 15, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Washington, where he won the Walter Payton Award as a junior, ...

Walter Payton Award The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...

:''National Offensive Player of the Year'' :2005:

Erik Meyer Erik Meyer (born December 28, 1982) is a former professional American football quarterback. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Eastern Washington. He was also a member of th ...

:2011:

Bo Levi Mitchell Bo Levi Mitchell (born March 3, 1990)Official Eastern Washingto ...

:2015:

:2021: Eric Barriere * Fred Mitchell Award :''National Placekicker of the Year from the NCAA Division I FCS, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and NJCAA levels'' :2018: Roldan Alcobendas

Big Sky Conference honors

*Offensive Player of the Year :1997: Harry Leons, QB :2001:

Jesse Chatman Jesse James Chatman Jr (born September 22, 1979) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at Eastern Washington. Chatman was also a member ...

, RB :2002:

Josh Blankenship Josh Blankenship (born November 13, 1980) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Broken Arrow High School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Blankenship served as the head football coach at Adams State University ...

, QB :2004:

, QB :2005: Erik Meyer, QB :2007:

Matt Nichols Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

, QB :2009: Matt Nichols, QB :2010:

Taiwan Jones Taiwan Asti Eric Jones (born July 26, 1988) is an American football running back and return specialist who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football ...

, RB :2011:

Bo Levi Mitchell Bo Levi Mitchell (born March 3, 1990)Official Eastern Washingto ...

, QB :2013:

Vernon Adams Vernon Anthony Adams Jr. (born January 3, 1993) is an American professional Canadian football quarterback for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Eastern Washington Eagles and Oregon Ducks. He h ...

, QB :2014: Vernon Adams, QB :2015:

, WR :2016: Cooper Kupp, WR (Co-POY) :2016: Gage Gubrud, QB (Co-POY) :2020-21: Eric Barriere, QB :2021: Eric Barriere, QB *Defensive Player of the Year :1993: Jason Marsh, LB :1997: Chris Scott, DT :2005: Joey Cwik, LB :2008:

, DE :2010: J. C. Sherritt, LB :2018: Jay-Tee Tiuli, DT *Special Teams Player of the Year :2013: Bo Schuetzle, CB *Freshman of the Year :2013:

, WR *Newcomer of the Year :1990: Harold Wright, RB :2002:

, QB :2004: Rocky Hanni, OG *Coach of the Year :1992:

Dick Zornes Dick Zornes (born June 15, 1944) is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at Eastern Washington University in Cheney from 1979 to 1993, compiling a record. Zornes also serve ...

:1997:

Mike Kramer Michael David Kramer (born July 25, 1955) is a former American football coach and former player, most recently the head football coach at Idaho State University of the Big Sky Conference. Kramer was previously the head coach at two other schools ...

:2001:

Paul Wulff Paul Louis Wulff (born February 25, 1967) is an American football coach and former player. In December 2022, he was appointed head coach at California Polytechnic State University. Wulff previously served as the head coach at Eastern Washington ...

:2004: Paul Wulff :2005: Paul Wulff :2012:

:2013: Beau Baldwin :2018:

Aaron Best Aaron Best (born January 27, 1978) is an American football coach and former player. He is the head coach at Eastern Washington Eagles football, Eastern Washington University, his alma mater, promoted from offensive coordinator in January 2017 E ...

Eagles in the pros

The following former Eastern Washington players are currently playing in one of the two professional football leagues listed below. *National Football League *Canadian Football League

Retired numbers

Future non-conference opponents

Scheduled opponents as of December 21, 2021.

References

External links

* {{Big Sky Conference football navbox American football teams established in 1901 1901 establishments in Washington (state) es:Eastern Washington Eagles