Gonzaga–Idaho football rivalry explained

Wide:yes
Team1:Gonzaga Bulldogs
Team1logo:Gonzaga Bulldogs wordmark.svg
Team2:Idaho Vandals
Team2logo:Idaho Vandals logo.svg
Sport:Football
Firstmeeting:October 15, 1910 [1] [2]
Idaho, 46–6
Mostrecent:October 10, 1941
Idaho, 21–7
Total:28
Series:Idaho leads,
Largestvictory:Idaho, 54–3 (1913)
Longeststreak:Idaho, 5 (1910–1915)
Currentstreak:Idaho, 1 (1941–present)

The Gonzaga–Idaho rivalry was the football game between Gonzaga University and the University of Idaho. campuses, in Spokane, Washington, and Moscow, Idaho, are approximately 90miles apart.

The football teams met 28 times from 1910 to 1941 and Idaho held a slight advantage For the last twenty meetings, from 1921 on, the rivalry was exactly even at, and the final ten were split at five wins each. They did not meet in 1912, 1917, or 1926, and Idaho did not have a varsity team the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) in 1922, while Gonzaga remained independent.

Gonzaga's dominating wins in 1939 and 1940, both shutouts, were led by halfback Tony Canadeo,[3] [4] a future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. With Canadeo in the NFL, Idaho rebounded in 1941 to win 21–7 in Spokane in what was the final game in

During World War II, Gonzaga did not field a team after 1941,[5] [6] while Idaho played in 1942 and went on hiatus in After the war, Idaho resumed football for the 1945 season, but Gonzaga opted not to, as its program had been in financial difficulty before

Game results

[7]

Coaching records

From 1919 through 1941; Idaho

Gonzaga

Head CoachTeamGamesSeasonsWinsLosses TiesPct.
William HigginsGonzaga11919010
Gus DoraisGonzaga51920–1924131
Clipper SmithGonzaga41925–1928201
Matty MathewsGonzaga11929100 
Ray FlahertyGonzaga11930010
Mike PecarovichGonzaga81931–1938350
Puggy Hunton Gonzaga 31939–1941210

Idaho

Head CoachTeamGamesSeasonsWinsLosses TiesPct.
Ralph HutchinsonIdaho11919100 
Thomas KelleyIdaho21920–1921200 
Matty MathewsIdaho41922–1925121
Charles ErbIdaho21926–1928011
Leo CallandIdaho61929–1934330
Ted BankIdaho61935–1940330
Francis SchmidtIdaho11941–1942100 

Other sports

Men's basketball

Idaho holds the overall lead at,[11] but Gonzaga has won the last nine, most recently in November 2008 at home in the halftime was and it was the third consecutive non-competitive game in

Prior to both teams joining the new Big Sky Conference as charter members in 1963, Idaho had a large lead in the series at . foes, they met two or three times per season and Gonzaga led at, plus two wins in tournaments. After sixteen years in the Big Sky, Gonzaga left for the WCAC in the summer of 1979, but the rivalry continued as an annual game (and occasionally biannual). fifteen games through 1990, Idaho went but Gonzaga has since dominated at . The last seven games in the series have been played on the Gonzaga campus; the last in Idaho was in The Vandals' most recent win was in and they last won in Spokane in

After more than a decade, the teams were scheduled to meet in December 2020 in Spokane, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 issues.

Game results

Since December 1979, Gonzaga leads, all non-league

^ Two games were played at the Spokane Coliseum (Nov 1987, Nov 1988), both won by Idaho

[11]

Baseball

In the eleven seasons of baseball in the Big Sky (1964–74), Idaho and Gonzaga each won four league titles. The Vandals were champions in 1964, 1966, 1967, and 1969, while Gonzaga won in 1965, 1971, 1973, and 1974.

Baseball was one of five sports that the Big Sky stopped sponsoring in 1974,[12] [13] so both moved to the new Nor-Pac in 1975,[14] [15] and continued as conference foes until Idaho dropped its program in May 1980.[16] The last eleven seasons of the baseball rivalry (1970–80) saw the Bulldogs dominate at .[17]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Gonzaga scores on Idaho's team . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . October 16, 1910 . 1, sporting .
  2. News: Moscow rooters happy over score . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington) . October 17, 1910 . 13.
  3. News: Bulldogs take Vandals 19–0 . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho) . Associated Press . October 14, 1939 . 8.
  4. News: Scoreless Idaho faces tough foe . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington) . October 14, 1940 . 12.
  5. News: Gonzaga cancels its intercollegiate football program . Spokane Daily Chronicle . April 7, 1942 . 11.
  6. News: Unofficial word says Hunton will be dismissed at Gonzaga . Spokane Daily Chronicle . April 8, 1942 . 17.
  7. News: Gonzaga-Idaho football record is a long one . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington) . October 8, 1932 . 1.
  8. News: Gonzaga University will play Idaho behind closed gates today . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . November 16, 1918 . 13.
  9. News: Idaho "U: defeats Gonzaga, 13 to 7 . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . November 17, 1918 . 1, part 3.
  10. News: Gridiron season opened with Gonzaga and Idaho in 7–7 tie . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . November 24, 1918 . 1, part 3.
  11. Web site: 2017–18 Men's basketball, All-time series (Idaho) . Gonzaga University Athletics . (record book) . 2017 . 92 . December 12, 2017 . December 13, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171213010635/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/gonz/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2017-18/misc_non_event/1718MBBRecordBook.pdf . dead .
  12. News: Idaho off probation, loop titles dwindle. Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). May 5, 1974. 13.
  13. News: Baseball axed in Big Sky . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). May 29, 1974 . 15.
  14. News: Idaho, Gonzaga join new baseball circuit . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). Associated Press . June 24, 1974 . 16.
  15. News: Portland State, Portland to play in baseball league . The Bulletin . (Bend, Oregon) . Associated Press . June 24, 1974 . 12 .
  16. News: Baseball's 'out' at Idaho . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington) . May 13, 1980 . 19.
  17. News: 2017–18 Baseball, All-time series (Idaho) . Gonzaga University Athletics . (record book) . 2017 . 15 . December 12, 2017 . December 13, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171213084906/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/gonz/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/2017-18/misc_non_event/2018_Baseball_Record_Book.pdf . dead .