The 1998 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

1998 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1998 and culminated with the major bowl games in ...

. 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 ...

, led by fourth-year head coach

Chris Tormey Christopher Joseph Tormey (born May 1, 1955) is a former American football coach. Formerly the head coach at Nevada and Idaho (his alma mater), Tormey was an assistant coach for 16 seasons at Washington (1984–94 & 2004–08); he also spent two ...

, were members of the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

and played their home games at the

Kibbie Dome The P1FCU Kibbie Dome, known simply as the Kibbie Dome and formerly named the Kibbie-ASUI Activity Center, is a multi-purpose indoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. It is the home of the Idaho Van ...

, an indoor facility on campus in

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city and the county seat of Latah County, Idaho. Located in the North Central Idaho, North Central region of the state along the border with Washington (state), Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 United States ...

. In their third season back in

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

, the Vandals won their only Big West title in football and were invited to the

Humanitarian Bowl The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, previously the Humanitarian Bowl (1997–2003, 2007–2010) and the MPC Computers Bowl (2004–2006), is an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA-sanctioned post-season college football bowl game that has be ...

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 ...

, in which they defeated the heavily favored Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles of

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

. The Vandals were led by

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 ...

freshman quarterback John Welsh, in his fifth start; his first was at sixth-ranked

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in late September. The season surpassed all expectations of the team, one publication ranked Idaho last among all Division I-A teams before the start of the season.Spokesman-Review
''– Then & Now: John Welsh ready to fight fire'' 2008-04-22 – accessed 2011-10-20 Idaho began the season with very little experience at quarterback and two new coordinators, both promoted from within. Sophomore Ed Dean was the opening day quarterback, then junior college transfer Greg Robertson started six of the next eight games. He re-injured his shoulder on Halloween, and Welsh took over for the remainder of the season. In the

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

game to end the regular season against

Boise State 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 ...

, also at

Bronco Stadium Albertsons Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the Western United States, located on the campus of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. It is the home of the Boise State Broncos of the Mountain West Conference. Known as Bronco Stadium f ...

, Idaho made a two-point conversion in overtime to win the conference title. This was the fifteenth win over the Broncos in the last seventeen games dating back to

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, but stands as the most recent; the Vandals then dropped a dozen straight to BSU through

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, the last meeting in the series. The Big West Conference discontinued football following the 2000 season; this remains Idaho's most recent conference title in football.

Schedule

References

External links

''Gem of the Mountains:'' 1999 University of Idaho yearbook
– 1998 football season

– student newspaper – 1998 editions {{Big West Conference football champions

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 Big West Conference football champion seasons Famous Idaho Potato Bowl champion 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 ...