The Eastern Washington Eagles are the intercollegiate varsity athletic teams that represent Eastern Washington University, located in Cheney, southwest of

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

. A member of the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eig ...

, EWU's athletic program comprises five men's sports:

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, cross country, football,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, and seven women's sports:

, cross country,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

, soccer,

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

Varsity athletics

Eastern has been a member of

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

since the summer of 1983, moving up from Division II. For most of its history, Eastern was a member of the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) before upgrading its programs and joining the NCAA in the late 1970s. EWU has been a member of the Big Sky athletic conference since 1987; the school's mascot is ''Swoop'' and the

school colors School colors (also known as university colors or college colors) are the colors chosen by a school as part of its brand identity, used on building signage, web pages, branded apparel, and the uniforms of sports teams. They can promote connectio ...

are red and white. In 2010, EWU won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I FCS

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

, EWU's first at the Division I level for any sport. In 1973, the student body voted to make Eastern's mascot the Eagles. Shortly before that, the board of trustees declared "Savages", its mascot through its first 92 years, no longer acceptable. Eagles are native to

eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

Washington and thus a logical choice for a replacement.

Football

Eastern football is currently coached by Aaron Best and competes at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level of Division I. Eastern claimed its first national championship in 2010, defeating

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

20–19 in the title game.

Men's basketball

Eastern men's basketball is currently coached by David Riley. Eastern has claimed two Big Sky regular season championships and two Big Sky conference tournament championships. Eastern advanced to the 2004 NCAA tournament and the

2015 NCAA tournament The 2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 77th edition of the tournament began on March ...

. Eastern lost to

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

in the first round in 2004 and Georgetown in the opening round in 2015.

Women's basketball

Former sports

Eastern formerly had varsity programs in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, and

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

(men's & women's). Baseball joined the Northern Pacific Conference in 1980 as its eighth team, but after the next season, half of those programs had disbanded, and

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

dropped the sport as well. The NorPac merged into the northern division of the Pac-10 for the 1982 baseball season, bringing the total up to seven schools. Baseball and wrestling were discontinued , following the 1990 seasons. The EWU wrestling team won NAIA tournament in 1977 scoring 95.5 points. Lanny Davidson is one of only 18 wrestlers in the history of the tournament to win three national NAIA wrestling championships.

National championships

The Eagles have won two team NCAA national championships.

Team

Facilities

Roos Field

The EWU football team plays at

Roos Field Roos Field is an outdoor college football stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington, southwest of Spokane. It is the home venue of the Eastern Washington Eagles of the Big Sky ...

, opened in 1967; expanded and renovated in 2004 and 2010 to increase capacity to 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. The introduction of red artificial turf and name change to Roos Field occurred in 2010.

Reese Court

Reese Court is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose arena that is home to the Eastern Washington University women's volleyball and men's and women's basketball teams. It replaced the Eastern Washington Fieldhouse when it opened in 1975. It was named for William B. "Red" Reese the athletic director and head coach in multiple sports.

Rivalries

Montana Grizzlies

The

EWU–UM Governors Cup The EWU–UM Governors Cup is the college football rivalry game between the University of Montana Grizzlies and the Eastern Washington University Eagles, both members of the Big Sky Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). ...

is the annual college football game between the

Montana Grizzlies The Montana Grizzlies and Lady Griz are the nicknames given to the athletic teams of the University of Montana, located in Missoula. The university is a member of the Big Sky Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding six men's teams ( ...

and the Eastern Eagles. Traditionally, it is in the middle of the regular season, played on the Saturday alternating between

and

Washington–Grizzly Stadium Washington–Grizzly Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the western United States, located on the campus of the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. Opened in 1986, it is home to the Montana Grizzlies, a member of the B ...

each year. The Eagles currently trail in the series with 11 wins and 25 losses.

Mascot

In 1973, the student body voted to make Eastern's mascot the Eagles. Shortly before that, the Eastern Board of Trustees declared "Savages", its mascot through its first 92 years, no longer acceptable. Eagles are native to

Washington and thus a logical choice for a replacement.

References

External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Eastern Washington Eagles, color=white , list = {{Big Sky Conference navbox {{Washington Sports {{Division1washingtoncolleges Baseball teams disestablished in 1990