The Idaho State Bengals football program represents Idaho State University in college football. The Bengals play their home games at the ICCU Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Pocatello, Idaho. Idaho State is a charter member of the Big Sky Conference in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) (formerly Division I-AA). Through the 2022 season, the Bengals have an all-time record of 482–550–20 (). Idaho State's current head coach is Cody Hawkins, who was hired on December 11, 2022.
History
The university and its football team have been known by several names since the program's inaugural season of 1902: 1902–1914: Academy of Idaho Bantams 1915–1926: Idaho Technical Tigers No team was fielded during the 1918 influenza pandemic 1927–1934: Idaho Southern Branch Tigers 1935–1946: Idaho Southern Branch Bengals Due to World War II, no team was fielded in 1943 or 1945 1947–present: Idaho State Bengals
Early history (1902–1934)
Idaho State first started fielding football in 1902, one year after the school was established as the Academy of Idaho. From 1902 to 1934, the program had 10 different head coaches, seven of which coached for less than three seasons. The Bantams and Tigers, as they were known until 1904 and 1934, respectively, found some success during this era, with a total record of 117–70–10 (.619). Herbert Cheney, the program's first ever head coach, has the highest winning percentage of any coach in program history, with a record of 5–1–1 (.786).
Guy Wicks era (1935–1940) Guy Wicks spent six total seasons with the Bengals. He accumulated a record of 29–17–1 (.628). He only had one losing season with the program, during 1940, with a record of 3–5. Wicks was also the head basketball coach at the school from 1931 to 1941.
John Vesser era (1941–1951) Wick's successor, John Vesser, stayed nine total seasons with Idaho State. He was the head coach when Idaho State moved from being an independent program to being a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC). In total, he had a record of 41–27–6 (.595).
Babe Caccia era (1952–1965) Babe Caccia played as both a center and a linebacker when he played for Idaho State (then known as Idaho Southern Branch) in 1936 and 1937. Babe was the head coach of the football program for 14 seasons, the most of any head coach, and won six conference titles. This included the first ever Big Sky title in 1963. After his run as head coach, he became assistant athletic director for Idaho State from 1965 to 1979, and athletic director from 1979 to 1986. For one year in 1976, he acted as line coach for the Edmonton Eskimos (now Edmonton Elks) of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He boasted a fairly successful record of 79–38–2 (.664) with Idaho State.
Leo McKillip era (1966–1967) Leo McKillip only coached for two seasons, having a losing record in both of them. He was Idaho State's first head coach to have a winning percentage below .500 since 1904, totaling 4–15 (.211).
Ed Cavanaugh era (1968–1971) Ed Cavanaugh took over as head coach in 1968. He improved over his predecessor, with a total record of 20–19 (.596). He was the head coach when Idaho State opened the ASISU Minidome, renamed as Holt Arena in 1988.
Bob Griffin era (1972–1975) Bob Griffin took over in 1972, and he remained with Idaho State for four total seasons, accumulating a 21–20 (.512) record. He went on to have a successful career with the Rhode Island Rams after his stay at Idaho State.
Joe Pascale era (1976) Joe Pascale was the defensive coordinator for two seasons, then was promoted to head coach in February 1976 when Bob Griffin departed for Rhode Island. During the lone season Pascale led the Bengals, they managed just one victory, a close 27–22 win at home over Nevada; ISU finished at and winless (0–6) in conference. His one-year contract was not renewed, and he became an assistant coach at Princeton in the Ivy League.
Bud Hake era (1977–1979) Bud Hake came to ISU in 1977 from the junior college ranks; he was previously the head coach for a decade at Grays Harbor College in Aberdeen, Washington. In 1978, the Bengals traveled to Japan to play the Utah State Aggies in Nishinomiya on September 3, and were shut out 10–0. Hake's three seasons resulted in a dismal record with only two wins in conference, both in 1977. After a winless 0–11 season in 1979, he soon resigned.
Dave Kragthorpe era (1980–1982) Previously the offensive line coach at BYU, Dave Kragthorpe was hired as head coach in late November 1979, During his first season in 1980, the rebuilding Bengals were 6–5 and won half of their conference games. In 1981, Idaho State had a record, and won the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship, beating Eastern Kentucky 34–23 in the 1981 Pioneer Bowl. Despite this success, ISU finished at 3–8 the following season. In his three years leading the Bengals, Kragthorpe went . He departed in June 1983 to become the athletic director at his alma mater, Utah State, then was the head coach at Oregon State from 1985 to 1990. Through 2022, Kragthorpe is the most recent Bengal head coach with an overall winning record.
Jim Koetter era (1983–1987) Alumnus and assistant coach Jim Koetter was promoted to head coach in June 1983; he led the Bengals to the Division I-AA playoffs that season, but fell in the first round to Nevada to finish at 8–4. In five seasons as head coach, Koetter compiled a record. Previously a longtime head coach in Pocatello at Highland High School, he then coached at Pocatello High School.
Garth Hall era (1988–1991) Garth Hall was formerly an offensive coordinator at both Tulane and Oregon State before he took his place as head coach in Idaho State. He failed to find much success, finishing 9–33–1 (.214), going 0–11 during his first season as a head coach. Hall coached the last Bengals game that ended in a tie, 35–35 at Southern Utah in 1991.
Brian McNeely era (1992–1996) Brian McNeely took up as head coach after Hall. He finished with a record of 21–34 (.382).
Tom Walsh era (1997–1998) Tom Walsh was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) before he started his career in Idaho State. He totaled 6–16 (.261) during his two-season stay with Idaho State.
Larry Lewis era (1999–2006) Larry Lewis took over after Walsh, and he remained head coach for 8 seasons. In 2002, he and the Bengals were tri-Big Sky Champions, sharing the champion title with Montana and Montana State.
Conference Champions:
Montana State, Montana, and Idaho State (5–2).Tiebreaker: Montana State won the tiebreaker (head-to-head) over Montana and Idaho State to secure the automatic NCAA bid. Montana won the tiebreaker over Idaho State based on overall record.
Lewis holds a record of 40–49 (.449) with the Bengals.
John Zamberlin era (2007–2010)
John Zamberlin was head coach at Central Washington before he went to Idaho State. He won four conference championships as head coach of Central Washington. Zamberlain's contract was originally going to end in 2009, but Idaho State extended the contract by two seasons. The choice was very controversial among students due to the team's lack of success. He averaged 1.5 wins per season, and he ended his career 6–39 (.133), the second-lowest winning percentage in program history. He was later a linebackers coach for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL from 2012 to 2013.
Mike Kramer era (2011–2016) Mike Kramer was previously head coach at both Eastern Washington and Montana State, winning one conference title with Eastern Washington and three with Montana State. His most successful season came with the 2014 Bengals, who had a record of 8-4 and finished the season ranked 25th in the FCS, but the team did not make the playoffs. His total record was 18–50 (.265).
Rob Phenicie era (2017–2021) In 2017, Kramer resigned as head coach, and Idaho State promoted wide receivers coach Rob Phenicie to head coach the same day. After five seasons with a cumulative record of 16–35 (.314), Phenicie was fired on November 20, 2021.
Charlie Ragle era (2022) On December 10, 2021, former California special teams coordinator Charlie Ragle was hired to be the Bengals' head coach. On November 28, 2022, less than a year after being hired, Ragle left the Bengals after his first season, accumulating only one win. He currently holds the lowest win percentage in program history (.091).
Cody Hawkins era (2023–present) After Ragle's departure, Idaho State hired Cody Hawkins, the offensive coordinator for two seasons at UC Davis. Hawkins quickly grew popular among the student body at Idaho State, earning the nickname "Daddy Hawkins." Hawkins ended his inaugural season with a 3–8 record. The most notable win in the season being against Eastern Washington dubbed the "Minidome Miracle" after coming back from a 27-point deficit late in the third quarter to win the game 42–41. In the 2025 season, Hawkins led the Bengals to a 6–6 overall record (5–3 in conference play), their first non-losing season since 2018, including Idaho State's first away victory against intrastate rival Idaho since 1981. Hawkins currently holds the highest winning percentage of any head coach since 2006.
Conference affiliations Idaho State's conference affiliations have been as follows: Independent (1902–1949, 1961–1962) Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (1950–1960) Big Sky Conference (1963–present)
Championships National championships 1981 Dave Kragthorpe I-AA Playoff 12–1 Eastern Kentucky W 34–23
Conference championships Idaho State has won eight conference championships, spanning two conferences. 1952 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference 8–0 5–0 1953 6–2 5–0 1955 8–1 5–0 1957 9–0 6–0 1959 6–2 4–0 1963Big Sky Conference 5–3 3–1 1981 12–1 6–1 2002 8–3 5–2 Co-champions
Undefeated seasons Idaho State has had seven undefeated seasons, under five different head coaches. 1902 5–0 n/a Herbert Cheney 1905 3–0–2 n/a Hubert Upjohn 1909 4–0 n/a Harvey Holmes 1910 6–0 n/a 1935 7–0–1 n/a Guy Wicks 1952 8–0 5–0 Babe Caccia 1957 9–0 6–0
Postseason results Bowl games The Bengals have appeared in, and won, two bowl games. November 24, 1949 Bean Bowl Chadron State W 20–2 December 19, 1981 Pioneer Bowl Eastern Kentucky W 34–23 Pioneer Bowl was an alternate name for the 1981 championship game, below.
Division I-AA/FCS playoffs The Bengals have appeared in the I-AA/FCS playoffs two times with a record of 3–1. They were National Champions in 1981.
1981 QuarterfinalsSemifinalsNational Championship Game Rhode IslandSouth Carolina StateEastern Kentucky W 51–0W 41–12W 34–23 1983 First Round Nevada L 20–27
National award winners
National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award Year Name Position 1991 Steve Boyenger Safety
Retired numbers
Idaho State Bengals retired numbers No. Player Pos. Tenure Ref. 41 Jared Allen DE 2000–2003
All-Americans The Bengals have had five two-time All-Americans: wide receiver Eddie Bell ('68–'69), defensive end Josh Hays ('95–96), placekicker Pete Garces ('98–'99), defensive end Jared Allen ('02–'03), and punter David Harrington ('10–'11). Allen also won the prestigious Buck Buchanan Award in 2003 as the top defensive player in the nation in Division I-AA. Wide receiver Rodrick Rumble was an All-American in 2011, a season in which he broke the Big Sky conference record for receptions with 112. Return specialist Tavoy Moore was given first-team All-American honors by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) for the 2010 season. Quarterback Mike Machurek was named a Kodak All-American for his 1981 championship season. Punter Jon Vanderwielen earned several All-American honors in 2009.
Head coaches