The 1961 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

1961 college football season The 1961 college football season was the 93rd season of intercollegiate football in the United States. Two teams have a claim to the 1961 major college national championship: * Alabama (11–0), led by Bear Bryant, won the Southeastern Conferen ...

. Led by eighth-year head coach Skip Stahley, 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 an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

in the NCAA's University Division and went 2–7. Two home games were played on campus at

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 ...

, with one 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 ...

at old Bronco Stadium at

Boise Junior College Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It ...

. The Vandals suffered a seventh straight loss 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 ...

with neighbor

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, blanked 0–34 in Pullman in In the rivalry game with

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, the Vandals regained the

Little Brown Stein The Little Brown Stein is a rivalry trophy awarded to the winner of the college football game between the University of Idaho Vandals and the University of Montana Grizzlies, both members of the Big Sky Conference. The trophy is, as the name im ...

with a 16–14 win in the season finale at Boise. In Idaho's seven losses, they were outscored 319 to 22, with three shutouts; the worst was a 69–0 rout by Utah State in a blizzard at Since the disbanding of the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a collegiate athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (includin ...

in the spring of 1959, Idaho's football teams had a record in three seasons as an independent. Stahley had taken on the dual role of

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

in and stepped down as head football coach in He was succeeded by

Dee Andros Demosthenes Konstandies Andrecopoulos (October 17, 1924 – October 22, 2003) was an American college football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He was the head coach at the Idaho Vandals football, University of Idaho from 1962 to 1964 ...

, hired in February, previously the line coach at

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. Stahley continued as Idaho's AD until mid-1964, when he departed for a similar position at

Portland State College Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

Schedule

Coaching staff

* Sid Hall, line * Gary Farnworth, backs * Bill Peterson, ends * George Goodell, freshmen

All-Coast

Tight end

Reggie Carolan Reginald Howard "Stretch" Carolan (October 25, 1939 – January 1, 1983) was an American professional football player, a tight end in the American Football League (AFL). He played seven seasons from 1962 to 1968, the last five with the Kansas Cit ...

was Idaho's only All-Coast selection, on the second team.

NFL draft

One fifth-year senior from the 1961 Vandals was previously selected in the

1961 NFL draft The 1961 NFL draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise. This draft was also the first regular draft for the Dall ...

References

External links

''Gem of the Mountains:'' 1962 University of Idaho yearbook
– 1961 football season
Go Mighty Vandals
– 1961 football season
Official game program: Idaho at Washington State
– October 14, 1961

– student newspaper – 1961 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 ...