The 1969 Idaho Vandals football team represented the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

in the

1969 NCAA University Division football season The 1969 NCAA University Division football season was celebrated as the centennial of college football (the first season being the one in 1869). During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the major college football teams, later known ...

. The

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

were led by second-year head coach

Y C McNease Y C McNease (February 1, 1936 – March 7, 2023) was an American college football coach. He was the head coach at the University of Idaho for the 1968 and 1969 seasons. Playing career Born in Raleigh, Mississippi, McNease graduated from ...

and played in the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference, affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I with college football, football competing in the Football Cha ...

. After two seasons in the

College Division The NCAA College Division was a historic subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) consisting of member schools competing at a lower level of college sports. The NCAA initially divided schools into a College Division and a ...

, Idaho returned to the

University Division The NCAA University Division was a historic subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) consisting of member schools competing at the highest level of college sports. The University Division was first established as a basis ...

this year. Due to soil erosion, the wooden grandstands at 32-year-old

Neale Stadium Neale Stadium was an outdoor athletic stadium 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 season; the track team moved to ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

were deemed unsafe in early August. Without a usable stadium on campus, they played their three home games at Rogers Field at

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

in nearby

Pullman, Washington Pullman is the most populous city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 32,901 at the 2020 census, and estimated to be 32,508 in 2022. Originally founded as ...

. Despite playing their home games in Pullman, the Vandals did not play the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...

in 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 ...

. Outside of war years, it was the first break in the rivalry since

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

. Washington State had to adjust its schedules to include all seven conference foes; the rivalry resumed in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

but was skipped again in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

. In their ninth

meeting A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision-making. Definiti ...

with Idaho State, the Vandals incurred their first loss to the Bengals in the home opener in Pullman. Without a game in

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

on the schedule (first time since

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

), the Vandals did not play in the state of Idaho this season; this occurred again thirty years later in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. Idaho had four starting quarterbacks in 1969: Steve Olson was first-string, backed up by John Hathaway, both from Lewiston. Hampered by back problems, Olson started the first four and Hathaway the next four, until a shoulder injury. Mitch Lansdell started the ninth game but an ankle injury sidelined him late in the fourth quarter. Fourth-string Pete Glindeman was slated to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

and had been lining up in practices as a defensive end. He relieved Lansdell and started the last game, a ten-point loss in which he completed 27 passes on 54 attempts for 371 yards, but threw seven A day after the season ended, the south grandstand of idle Neale Stadium was burned in an apparent

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

. Less than five months later, a similar fire occurred at Rogers Field in April

. Also a suspected arson, it severely damaged the south grandstand and press box of the

Schedule

Roster

All-conference

Wide receiver Jerry Hendren was a repeat selection to the all-conference team, again unanimously. He was joined by linebackers Roosevelt Owens and Ron Linehan, the lone

NFL draft

Three Vandals were selected in the

1970 NFL draft The 1970 NFL draft was the 35th National Football League draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, 1970, at the Belmont ...

, which lasted 17 rounds (442 selections).

References

External links

''Gem of the Mountains:'' 1970-71 University of Idaho yearbook
– 1969 (& 1970) football seasons
Go Mighty Vandals
– 1969 football season

– student newspaper – 1969 editions {{Idaho Vandals football navbox

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Idaho Vandals football seasons

Idaho Vandals football The Idaho Vandals are the college football team that represents the University of Idaho and plays its home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho. Idaho is a member of the Big Sky Conference in the Football Cham ...