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The Idaho Vandals are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing 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 Universit ...
, located in
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 ...
. The Vandals compete at the
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...
level as a member 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 eig ...
. The
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
team was an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...
for the
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
season due to a major wave of departures from the
Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to most of t ...
that left just two football-playing schools. In July 2014, Idaho returned its football team to the
Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams particip ...
and the other sports rejoined 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 eig ...
. The university's official colors are silver and gold, honoring the state's
mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...
tradition. Because these metallic colors in tandem are not visually complementary for athletic uniforms, black and gold are the prevalent colors for the athletic teams, with an occasional use of silver, similar to
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
, whose official colors are also silver and gold. When Idaho moved out of the Big Sky to the Big West in
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
, the yellow "Green Bay" gold was changed to metallic Yellow gold and black were the colors used by most of the varsity teams from 1978 to 1996, initiated by first-year head football coach
Jerry Davitch Jerry J. Davitch (born June 9, 1941) is a former college football coach and secondary school administrator. Since 2004, he has served as the superintendent of schools in Richland Township, just northeast of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Davitch serve ...
's new uniforms for
1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...
. On April 27, 2016, it was reported that the Vandals would become the first football program to voluntarily drop from the FBS level to the FCS level, beginning in
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
. All previous programs to have moved from FBS to FCS level did so because the NCAA downgraded either the individual programs or their conferences.


Conference affiliations

From 1922 through spring 1959, Idaho competed with the original eight schools of the
Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisi ...
as a member of the
Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including ...
(PCC). The PCC disbanded in the spring of 1959 and Idaho competed as an independent for four years. 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 eig ...
was founded in 1963 and Idaho became a charter member, though it did not play a conference schedule in football until 1965. From 1963 to 1977, the Big Sky Conference was a "college division" (later Division II) for football. Nevertheless, Idaho maintained its "university division" (Division I) status, with its additional football
scholarships A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...
, by playing a non-conference schedule of Division I teams. An exception came in August 1967, when the football program was involuntarily dropped to the college division for two seasons. Idaho was elevated back to university status in July 1969 and continued as Division I when the three numbered divisions were formed in 1973. Five seasons later in 1978, the Vandals were dropped to the new Division I-AA, as the Big Sky moved up from Division II. In 1996, Idaho joined the
Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacifi ...
in order to move to Division I-A after 18 years in I-AA. The Big West discontinued football after the 2000 season, so Idaho became a "football-only" affiliate member of the Sun Belt Conference for four seasons (2001–04). The Vandals joined the
Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to most of t ...
(WAC) in July 2005. After nine years, Idaho left the
Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to most of t ...
in July 2014, following a large defection of members to other conferences. The WAC dropped football after the
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
season, as only two members with football programs remained, Idaho and New Mexico State. The Vandal football team was an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...
for the
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
season, and rejoined the
Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams particip ...
as an affiliate member in
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, after a decade-long departure. The other sports shifted back to 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 eig ...
, rejoining after an 18-year absence. The Sun Belt Conference announced on March 1, 2016, that the affiliation agreement with Idaho and New Mexico State would not be extended past the 2017 season. In 2018, the Vandals rejoined Big Sky Conference football, becoming the first football program to voluntarily drop from the FBS level to the FCS level.


Sports sponsored


Track and field

Olympians *
Dan O'Brien Daniel Dion O'Brien (born July 18, 1966) is an American former decathlete and Olympic gold medalist. He won the Olympic title in 1996, three consecutive world championships (1991, 1993, 1995), and set the world record in 1992. Early life O' ...
(b. 1966), a hurdler on the UI
track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
team in the late 1980s, won the
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...
in the
decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...
at the
1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, as well as multiple
world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
. From
Klamath Falls, Oregon Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city w ...
, he received his bachelor's degree in 1993, and the outdoor track and field stadium where O'Brien trained for these world titles was named for him in September 1996. *
Joachim Olsen Joachim Brøchner Olsen (born 31 May 1977) is a Danish former politician and former world class shot putter. He was elected to the Danish parliament at the 2011 election, representing the Liberal Alliance in the Greater Copenhagen constituency ...
(b. 1977) of
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist (originally bronze) in the
shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's c ...
, competed for the Vandals from 1999 to 2003, winning the NCAA outdoor title in 
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
. He was a ten-time All-American and never finished worse than third in the shot put in eight career NCAA outdoor and indoor appearances. *
Angela Whyte Angela Whyte (born 22 May 1980) is a Canadian hurdling, hurdler in track and field athletic competition. She is a three-time Olympian (2004, 2008, and 2016) in the 100m hurdles at the Summer Olympics. She has won multiple medals at both the Pan ...
(b. 1980) of Canada was a four-time NCAA All-American and five-time Big West champion at Idaho, where she helped lead the women's team to 2001 and 2003 Big West team championships. She also earned Big West Female Athlete of the Year honors in 2001 and Big West Female Track Athlete of the Year honors in 2003. She was a member of Canada's 2004 and 2008 Olympic track teams. * Hec Edmundson (1886–1964) was born and raised in Moscow and attended the UI's prep school. A 1910 graduate (agriculture) of the UI, he was the state's first Olympian, in
1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ** German geophysicist Alfred ...
at
Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...
. Edmundson finished seventh in the
800 meters The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...
and sixth in the
400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...
. He later coached the Vandal basketball team, then moved to
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
to coach the
Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac ...
in
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
and track. The UW Pavilion was named for him in 1948, known locally since as "Hec Ed." *
Alycia Butterworth Alycia Butterworth (born October 1, 1992) is a Canadian Track and field, track and field athlete specializing in the 3000 metres steeplechase event. Butterworth's hometown is Parksville, British Columbia. Career Butterworth competed collegiately ...
(b. 1992) of Canada was an Honorable Mention NCAA All-American and two-time WAC Champion in the 3000m Steeplechase at Idaho. She also finished second in the WAC and the Big Sky in the steeple. She made the 2017 IAAF World Track & Field Championships in the 3000m Steeplechase. Alycia represented Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in the her signature event, the steeplechase. She finished 10th in her heat, after falling during the race.


Former sports


Baseball

Both Idaho and
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 pub ...
discontinued baseball after the 1980 season, citing budget constraints.
Idaho State , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...
dropped its program six years earlier when the Big Sky stopped sponsorship of baseball and four


Boxing

Under head coach "Limehouse Lou" August, the Vandals won the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
boxing championship in 1940 and 1941, and shared another national title with Gonzaga in 1950 under head coach Frank Young. (The Inland Northwest was a hotbed of the sport as Idaho,
Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...
, and Gonzaga had top programs and won national titles.) Due to budget reasons, the program was dropped in June 1954. Collegiate boxing fell from favor in the 1950s as more and more schools dropped their teams. The NCAA ended its sponsorship in January 1961, following the death of a Wisconsin boxer in the 1960 championships.


Field hockey

The final season of women's
field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...
was in the fall of 1980; it was discontinued that December.


Gymnastics

The final season for women's
gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...
was in 1982; the program was cut during a state budget crisis.


Skiing

The Vandal ski team was eliminated in October 1972 to economize, and the Big Sky dropped
skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...
in May 1974, along with four other sports. UI's team dated back to 1941.


Men's swimming

The men's
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
program had a 58-year history; it was discontinued after the 1986 season, . The Big Sky dropped swimming a dozen years earlier in 1974, along with four other sports. After over a decade as a varsity sport, women's swimming was cut after the 1985 season, then returned 19 years later in the fall of 2004 under head coach
Tom Jager Thomas Michael Jager (born October 6, 1964) is an American former competition swimmer. He is five-time Olympic gold medalist in relay events, a two-time World Championship individual gold medalist for the 50-meter freestyle, and a former world ...
.


Wrestling

The last season for Vandal
wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...


Fencing, rifle

Prior to
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Idaho also fielded teams in
fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...
and
rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...
.


Facilities

The University of Idaho has numerous on-campus facilities for the athletic program. The primary facility is 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 ...
, a 16,000 seat indoor stadium for football, basketball, indoor tennis, and indoor track. From 2001 to 2020, massive black curtains encircled the basketball seating configuration and the arena was called the "Cowan Spectrum", with a capacity of 7,000. Underneath the football turf is a five-lane, track and nine tennis courts. East end additions (1982, 2004) to the Kibbie Dome house the athletic department offices, locker rooms, weight room, and training facilities. The Kibbie Dome's concrete grandstands opened in October
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...
upon the site of the wooden
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 sea ...
(1937–68).
photo
An outdoor stadium for four years, it was fully enclosed in
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
and its playing surface sits at an
elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...
of above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...
. The historic Memorial Gymnasium (1928) is the home for women's volleyball, and hosted early season basketball games during the Vandals football season. It also hosted all men's and women's basketball home games in the 2020–21 season due to
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
football scheduling disruptions, specifically the decision of the Big Sky Conference to move its football season from fall 2020 to spring 2021. South of the "Mem Gym" is the Swim Center and the P.E. Building (formerly the new "Women's Gym"), which houses practice gymnasiums; these facilities were completed in 1970. The Mem Gym formerly had a swimming pool in its basement. Other outdoor facilities include the 18-hole championship UI Golf Course, directly south of the Kibbie Dome. The first nine holes debuted in 1937 and the second nine opened in 1970; the 1949 clubhouse was replaced in 1969. West of the Kibbie Dome is the outdoor track and field stadium, opened in early 1972 and named for newly crowned Olympic champion decathlete
Dan O'Brien Daniel Dion O'Brien (born July 18, 1966) is an American former decathlete and Olympic gold medalist. He won the Olympic title in 1996, three consecutive world championships (1991, 1993, 1995), and set the world record in 1992. Early life O' ...
in September 1996. A concrete grandstand at the finish line in the southeast corner seats approximately 1,000. The track complex was fully refurbished in 2011 and hosted the WAC outdoor championships in 2012. In addition, there are outdoor athletic practice fields on the grounds directly east of the Kibbie Dome. Formerly, these grass fields were for varsity football practice only. SprinTurf (similar to FieldTurf) and lighting was installed in 2005 and the fields are now available for intramurals and general recreation. Six outdoor tennis courts are east of these fields, west of the P.E. Building, and four more are on the lower Administration Lawn.
MacLean Field MacLean Field was an outdoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. The venue opened in 1914 and closed in 1966; its uses included football, baseball, track, and mil ...
, the campus' original athletics area, was on the grounds south of the Memorial Gym, with the spectators on the eastern embankment. Football was played here from 1914 until Neale Stadium opened 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 ...
; the baseball team called MacLean home for another three decades, until the construction of the College of Education building displaced the infield after the 1966 season
aerial campus photo – circa 1940
Prior to 1940, the baseball infield at MacLean was in the opposite (southwest) corner and lacked infield grass. It was covered by the athletic field house in 1949, which was razed following the enclosure of the Kibbie Dome in 1975, and became outdoor tennis courts. The new baseball diamond was constructed at the north end of campus; first used in April 1967, it was named for
Guy Wicks Guy Plumb Wicks (June 8, 1902 – January 16, 1968) was an American coach of college athletics and a university administrator; he coached basketball, baseball, and football in the state of Idaho. Early years Born in Eustis, Nebraska, Wicks moved ...
in May 1969. Wicks (1902–68), a UI graduate, was a Vandal baseball player in the early 1920s, a head coach in two sports in the 1940s, and later an associate dean of students. Prior to the construction of the library (opened 1957), it was the site of outdoor tennis courts. The university opened the new
Idaho Central Credit Union Arena 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 ...
in September 2021, with the first event taking place in late October. The 4,200-seat facility currently houses men's and women's basketball.


Mascot

Idaho's athletic teams go by a name earned nearly a century ago by a basketball team coached by Hec Edmundson, whose teams played defense with such intensity and ferocity that sports writers said they "vandalized" their opponents. The mark made by that 1917 team went far deeper than wins and losses on the court. In 1917, Harry Lloyd "Jazz" McCarty – a writer for the student newspaper, ''The Argonaut'' – tagged the team with a new nickname in a pregame write-up: "The opening game with Whitman will mark a new epoch in Idaho basketball history, for the present gang of 'Vandals' have the best material that has ever carried the 'I' into action." McCarty's indirect suggestion stuck. By 1921, McCarty and Edward Maslin Hulme, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts, succeeded in their push to have Vandals officially adopted as the nickname for Idaho teams.What is a Vandal?
/ref> The current mascot is Joe Vandal; in response to
Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...
concerns in the late 1970s, a new abstract logo was introduced and featured


Rivalries


Washington State

Since returning to
Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). ...
status for football in
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
, Idaho has rekindled its rivalry with
Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...
, to the west in Pullman. The annual game, usually played at
Martin Stadium Martin Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. It is the home field of the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12 Conference. Its full name is ...
in Pullman, was renewed in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
after just two meetings in two decades, and is referred to as the "
Battle of the Palouse The Battle of the Palouse refers to an athletic rivalry in the northwest United States, between the Vandals of the University of Idaho and Cougars of Washington State University. The two land-grant universities are less than apart on the ...
." The Cougars hold an immense advantage in the series (71–16–3, ), but the Vandals did win back-to-back meetings in 1999 and 2000, following 14 straight Cougar victories from 1966 to 1998. The last game played on the Idaho side of the border in this series was in 1966, a mudbath won by WSU late in the fourth quarter. This game followed consecutive Idaho victories in 1964 and 1965, which had been preceded by nine straight Cougar wins. Two of the recent games played in Pullman (1999 and 2001) were designated as Idaho "home games" to help reach existing NCAA minimum attendance requirements. The
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
game was a designated Idaho home game for revenue purposes. The 2003 game was played in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
at
Seahawks Stadium Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, th ...
. The contests from 2005 on were all WSU home games. The game in
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
was a 45–28 WSU victory, their seventh straight over the Vandals. At the request of Vandals head coach
Robb Akey Robb Alan Akey (born July 24, 1966) is an American football coach, currently the defensive coordinator at Central Michigan University. He was the head coach at the University of Idaho from 2007 to 2012. Early years Born and raised in Colorado Sp ...
, a former WSU assistant who became the Vandal head coach in
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...
, the game will be played occasionally rather than annually. The teams did not meet again until
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
, another WSU victory at 42–0. They met in 2016 at Pullman, a 56–6 victory for the Cougars. The next meeting had been scheduled for 2020 at Pullman, but was canceled when WSU's home of the
Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Divisi ...
announced that its members would only play conference games that season, if at all, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.


Boise State

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' ...
is 300 highway miles (480 km) south of Moscow, and many UI students are from the Treasure Valley (greater Boise area), the major population area of the state. Idaho had a major in-state rivalry with
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 pub ...
since 1971; BSU joined the Big Sky in 1970 but the football teams did not meet that season. BSU moved up (& UI moved down) to Division I-AA in 1978, then both opted up to
Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). ...
in
1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
, joining the Big West. BSU was 8–2–1 in the first 11 meetings, including five in a row from 1977 to 1981. Idaho immediately followed with 12 straight wins from 1982 to 1993 and won 15 of 17 before Boise State began the last 12-game winning streak in 1999, in which BSU dominated the Vandals. The composite score for the last dozen games was 613–213, an average BSU victory margin of over 33 points per game, which ranged from 14 to 58 points. Boise State won 13 of 15 games over Idaho since both teams moved up to Division I-A (now FBS) in 1996. Beginning in 2001, the winner of the football game was awarded the Governor's Trophy; Boise State won it every year. Boise State left the WAC after 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 to join the
Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations ...
, leaving no future for the football in-state rivalry. As of December 2016, the 2010 game was the last in the series, with no future games currently scheduled. In basketball, Idaho now plays Boise State in a neutral site game in the Boise area, away from the Broncos'
ExtraMile Arena ExtraMile Arena (formerly BSU Pavilion and Taco Bell Arena) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the western United States, on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. It is located on the east end of campus, between West Campus L ...
. This is a response to Boise State's refusal to schedule Idaho in football.


Montana

For most of its history, Idaho had an intense interstate rivalry with the
University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...
in
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 ...
, approximately east. The teams have met for football 84 times (second only to the 91 games with Washington State). Idaho and Montana first played in 1903, and played every year from 1914 to 1995 (except during the war years of 1918 and 1943–44, when neither school had a team). Montana was also a member of the
Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including ...
until 1950, and a fellow charter member of the Big Sky in 1963. Idaho leads the overall series 55–27–2 (), but Montana has dominated the rivalry since 1991. The Idaho–Montana rivalry was renewed as a conference rivalry in non-football sports when Idaho rejoined the Big Sky in 2014, and the football version was renewed in 2018 upon Idaho's return to Big Sky football. The teams played only five times between Idaho's departure for
Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). ...
in 1996 and its return to FCS (formerly Division I-AA) in advance of the 2018 season, with the I-AA Montana Grizzlies winning the last four, most recently in
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...
. Since the departure of Idaho, Boise State, and
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
from the Big Sky to Division I-A in the 1990s, the Montana Grizzlies have been the dominant I-AA/FCS football program in the West, though pushed strongly in the last part of the 2010s by
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 Hanf ...
. The winner of the Idaho-Montana game claims 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 ...
trophy.


Idaho State

Idaho and
Idaho State , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927)University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho State ...
have enjoyed a moderate rivalry since 1963, the year ISU became a university and both schools joined the new Big Sky conference as charter members. The schools are separated by a significant distance, Pocatello in
southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
Idaho is over 500 road miles (800 km) from Moscow. Idaho has traditionally been dominant in this rivalry, particularly in football. The football rivalry was most intense and equal in the 1970s and 1980s, but the teams played only sparingly during Idaho's 1996–2017 absence from Big Sky football, with Idaho winning all four contests. Their last game before Idaho's return to Big Sky football was in
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
in Moscow, with Idaho winning 42–27. The Vandals had won 11 of the 12 meetings between 1988 and 2017;.Idaho Game by Game against Opponents
– Idaho State – accessed September 16, 2009
Idaho State has won 2 out of the 3 games played since the Vandal's return to Big Sky football.


Athletic directors

{, class="wikitable sortable" ! Name ! Years ! Notes , - , Wilfred Bleamaster, , 1916–1920, , , - , Thomas Kelley, , 1920–1922, , align=center, , - , Robert Mathews, , 1922–1926, , align=center, , - , Charles Erb, , 1926–1928, , align=center, , - ,
Ralph Hutchinson Ralph Fielding "Hutch" Hutchinson (February 19, 1878 – March 30, 1935) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player. He served as the head football coach at Dickinson College (1901), the University of Texas at Austin (1903–1905), ...
, , 1928–1929, , , - , Leo Calland, , 1929–1935, , align=center, , - ,
Ted Bank Theodore Paul Bank (December 13, 1897 – June 3, 1986) was an American college football player, coach, and Bank was a starting quarterback for Fielding Yost's 1920 and 1921 Wolverine football teams. He graduated from the university in 1923 a ...
, , 1935–1941, , align=center, , - , George Greene, , 1941–1950, , align=center, , - , Babe Brown ''(acting)'', , 1943–1946, , align=center, , - , Gale Mix, , 1950–1954, , align=center, , - , Robert Gibb, , 1954–1960, , align=center, , - ,
Skip Stahley Jacob Neil "Skip" Stahley (September 22, 1908 – June 27, 1992)''The University of Idaho Magazine'', Oct 1992, Vol.10, No.4, p.20. was an American college football coach and athletic director. He served as the head football coach at the Universi ...
, , 1960–1964, , align=center, , - , John Thomas ''(interim)'' , , 1964–1965, , align=center, , - , Paul Ostyn, , 1965–1969, , align=center, , - , Ed Knecht, , 1969–1973, , align=center, , - , Leon Green, , 1973–1977, , align=center, , - , Bill Belknap, , 1977–1988, , align=center, , - , Gary Hunter, , 1988–1992, , align=center, , - , Pete Liske, , 1992–1996, , align=center, , - , Oval Jaynes, , 1996–1998, , align=center, , - ,
Mike Bohn Michael Robert Bohn (born November 16, 1960) is the athletic director at the University of Southern California. He was hired on November 11, 2019, following the resignation of Lynn Swann. He previously held the same position at the University of C ...
, , 1998–2003, , align=center, , - , Rob Spear, , 2003–2018, , align=center, , - , Pete Isakson ''(interim)'', , 2018–2019, , align=center, , - , Terry Gawlik ''(Sept. 1)'', , 2019–, , align=center,


References


External links

* {{Idaho Sports