The Eastern Washington Eagles football team represents

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington, United States. It shares its satellite campus in Spokane, Washington with Washington State University. Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided in ...

in the

NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Sponsored by the National Collegiate ...

. The Eastern Eagles are members of 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 ...

and play 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 Co ...

, which is known for being the only stadium in college football with a red playing surface.

History

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'. 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 Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the H ...

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

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 Beau Daniel Baldwin (born May 21, 1972) is an American gridiron football, football coach and former player. He most recently served as quarterbacks coach for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Previously, he was also th ...

the Eagles defeated the Delaware Blue Hens 20–19 in

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Collin County, Texas, Collin and Denton County, Texas, Denton counties. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex (DFW) and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth In ...

to win the school's first national championship in football.

Championships

National championships

Eastern Washington has won one

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, 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 be ...

in the FCS.

Conference championships

Eastern Washington has won 28 conference championships since 1901, including ten in the

. † 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 Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

, where they lost to Fairmont State. The Savages finished with a 1–1 record in NAIA playoff play. :

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 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 ...

season, when they won the

Head coaches

: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

, 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 ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

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 Michael Roos (born Mihkel Roos, October 5, 1982) is an Estonian-born former professional American football offensive tackle who played his entire career for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Tita ...

donating $500,000 toward the installation costs, and fellow alumnus and ESPN personality

Colin Cowherd Colin Murray Cowherd (born January 6, 1964) is an American sports media personality. He began his broadcasting career as sports director of Las Vegas television station KVBC and as a sports anchor on several other stations before joining ESPN ...

also making a donation. 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 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 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 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). H ...

is the game against conference rival

, usually played in mid-season in October, alternating between

in Cheney 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 Big ...

Missoula Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot River, Bitterroot and Blackfoot River (Montana), ...

. 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 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. The Cup was originally contested between EWU and 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 ...

, from 1984 through 1997.

Portland State

The Eagles also have a new rivalry with the

Portland State Vikings Portland State Vikings is the nickname of the NCAA-affiliated, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Portland State University of Portland, Oregon. The Vikings compete at the NCAA Division I level in basketball, soccer, volleyball, golf, t ...

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. † 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 Cooper Douglas Kupp (born June 15, 1993) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Washington Eagles, winning the Walter Payton ...

Touchdown Club of Columbus The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More ...

FCS Player of the Year *

Walter Payton Award The Walter Payton Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports ...

:''National Offensive Player of the Year'' :2005:

Erik Meyer Erik Meyer (born December 28, 1982) is an American former professional football quarterback and current coach. He is the offensive coordinator for St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs, California, a position he has held since 2025. He was s ...

:2011: Bo Levi Mitchell :2015:

: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 The National Football Foundation (NFF) is a non-profit organization to promote amateur American football on all levels throughout the United States and develop "the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the drive for academi ...

National Scholar-Athlete Award

Big Sky Conference honors

*Offensive Player of the Year :1997: Harry Leons, QB :2001: Jesse Chatman, RB :2002: Josh Blankenship, QB :2004:

, QB :2005: Erik Meyer, QB :2007: Matt Nichols, QB :2009: Matt Nichols, QB :2010: Taiwan Jones, RB :2011: Bo Levi Mitchell, QB :2013: Vernon Adams, QB :2014: Vernon Adams, QB :2015:

, WR :2016: Cooper Kupp, WR (Co-POY) :2016: Gage Gubrud, QB (Co-POY) :2020-21: Eric Barriere, QB :2021: Eric Barriere, QB *Defensive Player of the Year :1993: Jason Marsh, LB :1997: Chris Scott, DT :2005: Joey Cwik, LB :2008: Greg Peach, DE :2010: J. C. Sherritt, LB :2018: Jay-Tee Tiuli, DT *Special Teams Player of the Year :2013: Bo Schuetzle, CB *Freshman of the Year :2013:

, WR *Newcomer of the Year :1990: Harold Wright, RB :2002: Josh Blankenship, QB :2004: Rocky Hanni, OG *Coach of the Year :1992: Dick Zornes :1997:

Mike Kramer Michael David Kramer (born July 25, 1954) is a former American football coach and former player, most recently the head football coach at Idaho State Bengals football, Idaho State University of the Big Sky Conference. Kramer was previously the h ...

:2001: Paul Wulff :2004: Paul Wulff :2005: Paul Wulff :2012:

:2013: Beau Baldwin :2018: Aaron Best

Eagles in the pros

The following former Eastern Washington players are currently playing in one of the two professional football leagues listed below. *National Football League *Canadian Football League

Retired numbers

Future non-conference opponents

Scheduled opponents as of January 7, 2025.

References

External links

* {{Big Sky Conference football navbox American football teams established in 1901 1901 establishments in Washington (state) es:Eastern Washington Eagles