The Eastern Washington Eagles football team represents Eastern Washington University in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The Eastern Eagles are members of the Big Sky Conference and play at Roos Field, which is known for being the only stadium in college football with a red playing surface.

History

Conference affiliationsIndependent1901–1919Columbia Valley Conference1920–1924Tri-Normal Conference1922–1937Washington Intercollegiate Conference1938–1947Evergreen Conference1948–1979NCAA Division II independent1980–1983NCAA Division I-AA Independent1984–1986Big Sky Conference1987–present

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 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 underwent numerous changes to its identity. The school name changed 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'.""School selects eagle as mascot" Palm Beach Post United Press International – 1973-07-13 – p.D5 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 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 (now FCS), also as an independent.

Denied membership to the Big Sky Conference 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 marked a number of firsts for Eastern Washington's football program. The offseason saw a highly publicized move to install a red turf playing surface, the first of its kind in the country. Eastern utilized 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 the Eagles defeated the Delaware Blue Hens 20–19 in Frisco, Texas to win the school's first national championship in football.

Championships National championships Eastern Washington has won one national championship in the FCS.

2010 Beau Baldwin NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision 13–2 Delaware W 20–19

Conference championships Eastern Washington has won 28 conference championships since 1901, including ten in the Big Sky Conference.

1921 Spokane Intercollegiate Conference 3–3 3–0 Vin Eustis 1923 Spokane Intercollegiate Conference 5–2 3–0 Vin Eustis 1924† Columbia Valley Conference 3–4–1 2–0–1 Vin Eustis 1925 Columbia Valley Conference 6–3 3–0 Vin Eustis 1925 Tri-Normal Conference 6–3 2–0 Vin Eustis 1934 Tri-Normal Conference 6–1 2–0 Red Reese 1935 Tri-Normal Conference 4–2–1 1–0–1 Red Reese 1936 Tri-Normal Conference 7–1 2–0 Red Reese 1937 Tri-Normal Conference 6–1 2–0 Red Reese 1939† Washington Intercollegiate Conference 5–3 2–0 Red Reese 1947† Washington Intercollegiate Conference 6–1–1 4–0–1 Abe Poffenroth 1948† Evergreen Conference 8–1 5–1 Abe Poffenroth 1949† Evergreen Conference 7–2 5–1 Abe Poffenroth 1950 Evergreen Conference 8–2 5–1 Abe Poffenroth 1965 Evergreen Conference 8–1 4–1 Dave Holmes 1966 Evergreen Conference 7–1–1 4–1–1 Dave Holmes 1967 Evergreen Conference 11–1 6–0 Dave Holmes 1969† Evergreen Conference 4–5 4–2 Brent Wooten 1992† Big Sky Conference 7–4 6–1 Dick Zornes 1997 Big Sky Conference 12–2 7–1 Mike Kramer 2004† Big Sky Conference 9–4 6–1 Paul Wulff 2005† Big Sky Conference 7–5 5–2 Paul Wulff 2010† Big Sky Conference 13–2 7–1 Beau Baldwin 2012† Big Sky Conference 11–3 7–1 Beau Baldwin 2013 Big Sky Conference 12–3 8–0 Beau Baldwin 2014 Big Sky Conference 11–3 7–1 Beau Baldwin 2016† Big Sky Conference 12–2 8–0 Beau Baldwin 2018† Big Sky Conference 12–3 7–1 Aaron Best † 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, where they lost to Fairmont State. The Savages finished with a 1–1 record in NAIA playoff play. 1967 SemifinalsChampions Bowl @ New Mexico Highlands@ Fairmont State W 28–14L21–28 Dave Holmes

NCAA 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, when they advanced to the quarterfinals as an independent. The Eagles' best finish came during the 2010 season, when they won the national championship.

1985 First RoundQuarterfinals @ Idaho@ Northern Iowa W 42–38 L 14–17 Dick Zornes(1–2)1992 First Round @ Northern Iowa  L 14–17 1997 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals Northwestern StateWestern KentuckyYoungstown State W 40–10W 38–21 L 14–25 Mike Kramer(2–1)2004 First RoundQuarterfinals @ Southern IllinoisSam Houston State W 35–31 L 34–35 Paul Wulff(2–3)2005 First Round @ Northern Iowa  L 38–41 2007 First RoundQuarterfinals @ McNeese State@ Appalachian State W 44–15 L 35–38 2009 First Round @ Stephen F. Austin  L 33–44 Beau Baldwin(11–5)2010 First RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship SE Missouri StateNorth Dakota StateVillanovavs. Delaware W 37–17W 38–31W 41–31W 20–19 2012 Second RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals WagnerIllinois StateSam Houston State W 29–19W 51–35 L 42–45 2013 Second RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals South Dakota StateJacksonville StateTowson W 41–17W 35–24 L 31–35 2014 Second RoundQuarterfinals MontanaIllinois State W 37–20 L 46–59 2016 Second RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinals Central ArkansasRichmondYoungstown State W 37–20W 38–0 L 38–40 2018 Second RoundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship NichollsUC DavisMainevs. North Dakota State W 42–21W 34–29W 50–19L 24–38 Aaron Best(4–3)2020–21 First Round North Dakota State L 20–422021 First RoundSecond Round Northern Iowa@ Montana W 19–9L 41–57

Head coaches Unknown 1901–1902 2 3–3–2 0 0 0 Claude Arthur 1903 1 3–2–2 0 00 Henry E. Smith 1904–1905 2 5–9 .357 0 00 Paul Lienau 1906–1907 2 8–5 .615 0 00 Nick E. Hinch 1908, 1912 2 2–4 .333 0 00 Harry Goldsworthy 1909 1 0–2 .000 0 00 Albert Fertsch 1913–1916 4 4–9 .308 0 00 Vin Eustis 1920–1926 7 24–25–1 .490 3 (1921, 1923, 1925) 00 Arthur C. Woodward 1927–1928 2 7–8 .467 0 00 Brick Johnson 1929 1 4-4 .500 0 00 Red Reese 1930–1941, 1946 13 66–26–9 .698 5 (1934–1937, 1939) 00 Ralph Peterson 1942 1 3–4 0 00 Abe Poffenroth 1947–1952 6 32–19–1 .625 4 (1947–1950) 00 Ed Chissus 1953–1962 10 29–52–4 .365 0 00 Dave Holmes 1963–1967 5 34–13–1 .719 3 (1965–1967) 1 (1967)0 Brent Wooten 1968–1970 3 11–18 .379 1 (1969) 00 John Massengale 1971–1978 8 35–39–1 0 00 Dick Zornes 1979–1993 15 89–66–2 1 (1992) 2 (1985, 1992)0 Mike Kramer 1994–1999 6 37–32 1 (1997) 1 (1997)0 Paul Wulff 2000–2007 8 53–40 2 (2004, 2005) 3 (2004, 2005, 2007)0 Beau Baldwin 2008–2016 9 85–32 5 (2010, 2012–2014, 2016) 6 (2009, 2010, 2012–2014, 2016) 1 (2010) Aaron Best 2017–present 9 57–47 1 (2018) 3 (2018, 2020–21, 2021) 0 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 Roos Field, 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 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 donating $500,000 toward the installation costs, and fellow alumnus and ESPN personality Colin Cowherd also making a donation.sports.espn.go.com

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.

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 is the game against conference rival Montana, usually played in mid-season in October, alternating between Roos Field in Cheney and Washington–Grizzly Stadium in Missoula. The Eagles currently trail in the overall series with 18 wins, 30 losses, and a tie; it became the Governors Cup in 1998 for the 25th meeting and Montana also leads that series at through 2017. The Cup was originally contested between EWU and the University of Idaho, from 1984 through 1997.

Portland State

The Eagles also have a new rivalry with the Portland State Vikings 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.

Montana Grizzlies EWU–UM Governors Cup Governors Cup 49 1938† 2022, Lost 7–63 18 30 1 Portland State Vikings The Dam Cup Dam Cup 44 1986‡ 2022, Lost 35-38 22 21 1 † 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 2010: J. C. Sherritt

Jerry Rice Award National Freshman Player of the Year 2013: Cooper Kupp

Touchdown Club of Columbus FCS Player of the Year Touchdown Club of Columbus FCS Player of the Year Year Name Position 2016 Gage Gubrud QB

Walter Payton Award National Offensive Player of the Year 2005: Erik Meyer 2011: Bo Levi Mitchell 2015: Cooper Kupp 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

National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award