It’s no question, University of Idaho athletics as a whole made history in the 2013-14 year. The eight conference championships not only doubled the previous high of four set back in 1965, but earned Idaho the WAC Commissioner’s Cup — awarded to the school that performs the best in conference athletic competition.
Read more about the historic year and Commissioner’s Cup
In the story linked above, Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said this was by far the most successful athletic year in university history.
That got me thinking, would Vandal Nation agree? With the football and men’s basketball programs struggling, would fans still consider this year a success? So I posed the question, “Was this the best year in the history of Vandal athletics?” After a week, here are the results:
While the majority voted yes, fans who disagreed made their voice heard — and it’s pretty clear, football matters. Below are the best answers from the comments section, Facebook and Twitter. (Click to enlarge answers)
Even though Idaho only had one conference title in 1998, it is still considered by many, the best year for Vandal athletics.
Why? Football.
Courtesy of Idaho Media Relations
Freshman quarterback John Welsh took over as starter mid-season, and the Vandals finished the ’98 season 9-3, with back-to-back victories on the blue turf in Boise. First of the final two games was the thrilling 36-35 overtime win versus hated rival, Boise State, which earned UI its first bowl game. Idaho made the return trip to Boise for a matchup against Southern Mississippi in the Humanitarian Bowl. In dramatic fashion, the Vandals came from behind to beat SMU 42-35. With the victory, UI became the first school from the state of Idaho to win a bowl game.
In 2009, zero teams won a conference title. But that didn’t stop fans highlighting ’09 as their favorite year.
In year three of the Robb Akey era, Idaho finished fourth in the WAC and for the second time in school history, earned a berth in a bowl game. And who could forget the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl?
With the victory, Idaho finished the season at 8-5. Mike Iupati started all 12 games, earned All-WAC honors and was a consensus 2009 All-American. Iupati was the 17th overall selection by the San Francisco 49ers — the highest selection for a Vandal since 1967, when Ray McDonald was selected 13th by the Washington Redskins.
Some fans chose to highlight the rich history of Vandal athletics. The 1980s could be considered the most successful decade — the 1981-82 basketball team won 27 games and made a sweet-16 appearance in the NCAA tournament. The football team also added four conference titles from 1985-89.
Rolly Shumway was Idaho’s first national champion in 1937 at 145 pounds.
The boxing dynasty Idaho had from the 1930-50s is worth noting, too — more than a few championships were won in that time period. If you haven’t read Theo Lawson’s story on Idaho’s old boxing program, I highly recommend you do so.
Speaking of Lawson, the old Argonaut Editor In Chief voiced his opinion on the subject. He was joined by a few others, commenting how the WAC was rather weak this year, compared to the past.
Former Vandal Nation Manager Sean Kramer weighed in — along with a few others. All shared a positive outlook on the current state of Idaho athletics.
Of course, money plays a factor — it does make the world go round, right?
And finally, Holly, who like many fans believe Idaho was at its best when they were a student.
In 2005, women’s cross country was the only program to win a conference championship. The 2004-05 men’s basketball team went 8-22 and football finished 2-9.