Battle of the Palouse

The Battle of the Palouse refers to an athletic rivalry between the Vandals of the University of Idaho and Cougars of Washington State University. The two land-grant universities are less than eight miles (13 km) apart on the rural Palouse; Idaho's campus in Moscow is nearly on the Idaho–Washington border, and Washington State's campus is directly west in Pullman, linked by Washington State Route 270 and the Bill Chipman Palouse Trail. The two schools' most prominent rivalry was in football, but in later years it has shifted to men's basketball.

Football

Battle of the Palouse

Sport	Football
Teams	Idaho Vandals Washington State Cougars

Series history

The first game was played 130 years ago in November 1894 and resulted in a win for Washington State. The game in 1898 was not played because Idaho had an ineligible ringer from Lapwai, F.J. McFarland, a recent All-American from Carlisle. The Vandals' first-ever forward pass was attempted against the Cougars in 1907: it was completed for a touchdown from a drop-kick formation in the fourth quarter and led to a 5–4 victory.

Washington State has dominated the local rivalry, holding a 71–16–3 (.806) lead. The record since 1926 is even more dominant, with a 56–5–2 (.905) advantage for the Cougars. The longest winning streak for Idaho was three games (1923–25), and has only five victories since that three-peat (1954, 1964, 1965, 1999, & 2000) and two ties (1927, 1950) to offset the 56 losses.

The games were skipped in 1969 and 1971, unfortunate for Idaho as the 1971 Vandals posted one of the best records (8–3) in school history, while WSU was 4–7. The rivalry became increasingly one-sided as WSU dominated in the 1970s (except for 1974) and the original series ended, following the 1978 game. From 1979 to 1997, the game was played just twice (1982, 1989) until the 10-year renewal from 1998–2007. Since their last wins in 1999 and 2000, Idaho has been physically outmatched in most of the seven games; the game has only been played once since 2007, in 2013.

As two schools are in close proximity, from 1938 to 1968 there was a tradition called The Loser's Walk, where during the week following the game students of the losing school would walk from their own campus to the winners' campus, then receive rides back home from the winning side. This has frequently been misreported as students walking back to their own campus immediately following the game. In 1954, the walk made national news when about 2,000 students from Washington State College made the trek east from Pullman to Moscow after the Cougars lost to Idaho for the first time in 29 years.

In a span of less than five months from November 1969 to April 1970, both schools' aged wooden stadiums (Idaho's Neale Stadium and WSU's Rogers Field) burned down due to suspected arson. The WSU–Idaho game in 1970 was dubbed the Displaced Bowl, which was held in Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane on September 19. The Cougars won the game (their only win that season), as well as the next ten against the Vandals. The 1970 game was the first in the rivalry played on AstroTurf, which was new to Joe Albi that season.

In 1978 the NCAA split Division I football in two: I-A (now FBS) and I-AA (now FCS). Washington State was in Division I-A as part of the Pac-10 Conference and Idaho downgraded to I-AA as part of the Big Sky Conference, whose other football members moved up from Division II. In the late 1970s, I-A football programs were allowed 50% more scholarships and twice as many assistant coaches as I-AA teams. During the years they were in different divisions, the schools met only twice (1982 in Spokane and 1989 in Pullman). In 1996, Idaho moved back up to Division I-A in the Big West Conference, and Idaho and WSU rekindled their century-old rivalry. Since the rivalry was reinstated in 1998, every game has been played at Martin Stadium in Pullman, except for the matchup in 2003, which was played at Seattle's Seahawks Stadium. The game played on the Idaho side of the border was in 1966, a come-from-behind 14–7 Cougar victory on a very muddy field to prevent a Vandal three-peat.

Future of rivalry

After ten years of the renewed rivalry, Vandal head coach Robb Akey, previously WSU's defensive coordinator, said in 2008 that he preferred the game not be played every year, instead saying he would prefer it as a "once-in-a-while thing." Only one game was played during Akey's tenure, in his first season in 2007, and he was fired in October 2012. The meeting in 2013 on September 21 was a one-year revival, but the future of the series under current Vandal head coach Paul Petrino is unclear. The next game is tentatively scheduled for 2016 in Pullman, on September 17.

Game results

1890 No game	1891 No game	1892 No game	1893 No game	1894 WSU 10–0 Moscow	1895 WSU* 10–4 Pullman	1896 No game	1897 No game	1898 No game	1899 WSU* 11–0 Pullman
1900 No game	1901 UI* 5–0 Moscow	1902 WSU* 17–0 Pullman	1903 UI* 32–0 Moscow	1904 UI 5–0 Pullman	1905 UI* 5–0 Moscow	1906 WSU* 10–0 Pullman	1907 UI* 5–4 Moscow	1908 Tie 4–4 Pullman	1909 WSU 18–0 Moscow
1910 UI 9–5 Pullman	1911 WSU 17–0 Moscow	1912 UI 13–0 Pullman	1913 UI* 3–0 Moscow	1914 WSU* 3–0 Pullman	1915 WSU 41–0 Moscow	1916 WSU* 31–0 Pullman	1917 WSU 19–0 Moscow	1918 No game	1919 WSU* 37–0 Pullman
1920 WSU 14–7 Moscow	1921 WSU* 20–3 Pullman	1922 WSU 18–19 Moscow	1923 UI 14–0 Pullman	1924 UI* 19–3 Moscow	1925 UI 7–6 Pullman	1926 WSU 6–0 Moscow	1927 Tie 7–7 Pullman	1928 WSU 26–0 Moscow	1929 WSU* 41–7 Pullman
1930 WSU 33–7 Moscow	1931 WSU* 9–8 Pullman	1932 WSU* 12–0 Pullman	1933 WSU 14–6 Moscow	1934 WSU* 19–0 Pullman	1935 WSU 6–0 Moscow	1936 WSU 14–0 Moscow	1937 WSU* 13–0 Pullman	1938 WSU 12–0 Moscow	1939 WSU* 21–13 Pullman
1940 WSU 26–0 Moscow	1941 WSU* 26–0 Pullman	1942 WSU 7–0 Moscow	1943 1944 No games	1945 WSU 43–12 Moscow	1945 WSU 21–0 Moscow	1946 WSU* 32–0 Pullman	1947 WSU 7–0 Moscow	1948 WSU* 19–14 Pullman	1949 WSU 35–13 Moscow
1950 Tie 7–7 Pullman	1951 WSU 9–6 Moscow	1952 WSU* 36–6 Pullman	1953 WSU 30–13 Moscow	1954 UI 10–0 Pullman	1955 WSU 9–0 Moscow	1956 WSU 33–19 Moscow	1957 WSU* 21–13 Pullman	1958 WSU 8–0 Moscow	1959 WSU* 27–5 Pullman
1960 WSU 18–17 Moscow	1961 WSU* 34–0 Pullman	1962 WSU 22–14 Moscow	1963 WSU* 14–10 Pullman	1964 UI* 28–13 Moscow	1965 UI 17–13 Pullman	1966 WSU 14–7 Moscow	1967 WSU* 52–14 Pullman	1968 WSU* 14–0 Spokane	1969 No game
1970 WSU* 44–16 Spokane	1971 No game	1972 WSU* 35–14 Pullman	1973 WSU* 51–24 Pullman	1974 WSU* 17–10 Pullman	1975 WSU* 84–27 Pullman	1976 WSU* 45–6 Pullman	1977 WSU* 45–17 Pullman	1978 WSU* 28–0 Pullman	1979 No game
1980 No game	1981 No game	1982 WSU* 34–14 Spokane	1983 No game	1984 No game	1985 No game	1986 No game	1987 No game	1988 No game	1989 WSU* 41–7 Pullman
1990 No game	1991 No game	1992 No game	1993 No game	1994 No game	1995 No game	1996 No game	1997 No game	1998 WSU* 24–16 Pullman	1999 UI 28–17 Pullman
2000 UI 38–34 Pullman	2001 WSU* 36–7 Pullman	2002 WSU* 49–14 Pullman	2003 WSU* 25–0 Seattle	2004 WSU* 49–8 Pullman	2005 WSU* 38–26 Pullman	2006 WSU* 56–10 Pullman	2007 WSU* 45–28 Pullman	2008 No game	2009 No game
2010 No game	2011 No game	2012 No game	2013 WSU* 42–0 Pullman	2014 No game	2015 No game	2016 Pullman

Men's basketball

Battle of the Palouse

Sport	Men's basketball
Teams	Idaho Vandals Washington State Cougars

Although the Battle of the Palouse in football waned by the 1980s, Idaho and Washington State men's basketball teams have played each other annually since 1906 in a series that continues to this day and is dubbed the Battle of the Palouse. From the 1921–22 to 1958–59 seasons, the two schools both competed in the Pacific Coast Conference.

Washington State has a 162–108 lead in the series as of December 3, 2014; in the latest game in the series, Idaho won 77–71 in Idaho's first win over Washington State since 2002.

The rivalry in basketball reached its peak in the early 1980s, under head coaches Don Monson and George Raveling. The game in early December 1982 at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow established a new attendance record of 11,000 for an Idaho home game; the Vandals won it overtime for their third straight win over the Cougars and 37th consecutive win at home. Idaho was coming off a 27–3 season in 1982 in which it was ranked in the top ten and reached the Sweet Sixteen (and Monson was named Kodak coach of the year). The Cougars went on to finish second in the Pac-10 in the 1983 regular season, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, falling to #1 seed Virginia in Boise to finish at 26–6. Both coaches left at the end of the season; Monson for Oregon and Raveling for Iowa.

Other sports

Idaho–Washington State games are also dubbed "Battle of the Palouse" in women's basketball, women's volleyball, and women's soccer.

Washington State leads the women's basketball series, last played in the 2008–09 season, 26–13 and won the most recent game 53–50 over Idaho.

In women's volleyball, Washington State leads the series 41–21 as of 2015. In recent years, the series has been played as part of invitational tournaments hosted by the schools:

• 2008: Idaho Classic, Moscow (Idaho won 3–0)
• 2009: Nike Cougar Challenge, Pullman (Washington State won 3–2)
• 2010: Nike Cougar Invitational, Pullman (Idaho won 3–0)
• 2012: Idaho Nike Invitational, Moscow (Idaho won 3–2)
• 2013: Cougar Invitational, Pullman (Washington State won 3–0)
• 2014: Cougar Challenge, Pullman (Washington State won 3–1)

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

External links

• College Football Data Warehouse – Idaho opponents: vs. Washington State