EWU–UM Governors Cup

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EWU–UM Governors Cup
Eastern Washington
Montana Grizzlies
SportFootball
First meetingSeptember 24, 1938
86 years ago
Montana, 27–0
Latest meetingNovember 12, 2022
Montana, 63–7
Next meetingSeptember 28, 2024
TrophyThe Governors' Cup (since 1998)
Statistics
Meetings total49
All-time seriesMontana leads,
30–18–1  (.622)
Trophy seriesMontana leads,
14–9  (.609)
Largest victoryMontana, 63–7 (1995, 2022)
Longest win streak4, Montana (four times)
Eastern Washington (once)
Current win streakMontana, 2 (2021–present)
Map
100km
62miles
none
Montana
.
Eastern Washington
Locations of Eastern Washington and Montana

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).

History[edit]

The Governors Cup is a very intense and heated rivalry, with the winner often the eventual conference champion. The original Governors Cup game was between EWU and University of Idaho Vandals until they left the Big Sky Conference in 1997.[1]

Since 2009, the game has sold out and its winner has advanced to the FCS playoffs. It is usually played in the mid-season in October, alternating between Roos Field and Washington–Grizzly Stadium. In the 1980s and from 1998 to 2002, EWU hosted the Montana game at Spokane's Joe Albi Stadium.

Montana leads in the overall rivalry with 28 wins, 18 losses, and a tie. The first seven meetings were held before 1951; Montana was a member of the Pacific Coast Conference through the 1949 season. Of the first seven games, two were played in eastern Washington, both at night: the 1947 game was in Spokane at Gonzaga Stadium,[2][3][4] which was soon deemed unsafe,[5][6] and the 1950 game was in Cheney.[7] The 1948 game was Eastern's only win in the early series, played in Great Falls.[8][9] Following the 1950 game, the teams did not meet for three decades, renewing the series in 1980.

Eastern joined the NCAA in 1978 in Division II, moved up to Division I-AA in 1984,[10] and joined the Big Sky in 1987.[11] The only one tie was in 1984, when it was a non-conference contest;[12] the Big Sky introduced overtime for conference games in 1980.[13]

Montana broke Eastern's four-game winning streak in 2015 with a lopsided 57–16 victory in Missoula. Eastern won 35–16 in 2016 for their fifth straight win over the Griz on the red turf in Cheney.

The Governor's Cup debuted 40 years ago in 1984 and was originally between EWU and the University of Idaho Vandals of Moscow.[14][15][16] Eastern pulled off a seven-point upset at Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane,[17][18] with chief executives John Spellman and John Evans in attendance. Idaho's last year in the Big Sky was 1995 and the two played annually in mid-season through 1997;[19] the non-conference series continued for two more years, in the season openers in early September. The game with Montana in October became the Governors Cup in 1998, and was played at Joe Albi.[20]

As part of the scheduling of Big Sky Conference games, each school has traditionally played two opponents every year as a rival. Eastern's current rivals are Montana and Portland State, however, with the return of Idaho to the Big Sky Conference for football in 2018, that will change to the Vandals and Portland State, with Montana becoming Idaho's second rival. This change will begin in the 2018 season, meaning EWU will not play a regular season game versus Montana in 2018 for the first time since 1982, and the two teams will no longer be guaranteed to play each other on an annual basis.[21]

Game results[edit]

Eastern Washington victoriesMontana victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
1 September 24, 1938 Missoula, MT Montana 27–0
2 September 28, 1940 Missoula, MT Montana 9–0
3 October 5, 1946 Missoula, MT Montana 31–7
4 September 20, 1947 Spokane, WA Montana 21–0
5 September 18, 1948 Great Falls, MT Eastern Washington 12–7
6 November 5, 1949 Missoula, MT Montana 19–6
7 September 23, 1950 Cheney, WA Montana 52–0
8 October 25, 1980 Missoula, MT Montana 42–7
9 November 21, 1981 Spokane, WA Eastern Washington 14–13
10 November 12, 1983 Spokane, WA Eastern Washington 27–26
11 October 13, 1984 Missoula, MT Tie14–14
12 November 16, 1985 Spokane, WA #13 Eastern Washington 52–19
13 October 4, 1986 Missoula, MT Montana 42–37
14 November 14, 1987 Spokane, WA Montana 22–3
15 October 8, 1988 Missoula, MT #13 Montana 30–6
16 September 23, 1989 Spokane, WA Montana 22–16
17 September 29, 1990 Missoula, MT #20 Eastern Washington 36–35
18 October 26, 1991 Cheney, WA Eastern Washington 20–17
19 October 17, 1992 Missoula, MT Eastern Washington 27–21
20 October 16, 1993 Cheney, WA #16 Montana 35–20
21 October 8, 1994 Missoula, MT #3 Montana 49–29
22 October 14, 1995 Cheney, WA #9 Montana 63–7
23 October 19, 1996 Cheney, WA #2 Montana 34–30
24 October 18, 1997 Missoula, MT Eastern Washington 40–35
25 October 24, 1998 Spokane, WA Montana 30–27
26 October 23, 1999 Missoula, MT #4 Montana 25–7
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
27 September 30, 2000 Spokane, WA #9 Montana 41–31
28 September 29, 2001 Missoula, MT #3 Montana 29–26
29 November 16, 2002 Spokane, WA Eastern Washington 30–21
30 November 15, 2003 Missoula, MT #5 Montana 41–10
31 October 16, 2004 Cheney, WA #5 Montana 31–28
32 October 15, 2005 Missoula, MT #12 Eastern Washington 34–20
33 October 7, 2006 Cheney, WA #4 Montana 33–17
34 October 6, 2007 Missoula, MT #1 Montana 24–23
35 October 11, 2008 Cheney, WA #12 Montana 19–3
36 October 17, 2009 Missoula, MT #3 Montana 41–34
37 September 18, 2010 Cheney, WA #18 Eastern Washington 36–27
38 September 17, 2011 Missoula, MT #12 Montana 17–14
39 September 29, 2012 Cheney, WA #21 Eastern Washington 32–26
40 October 26, 2013 Missoula, MT #3 Eastern Washington 42–37
41 November 8, 2014 Cheney, WA #5 Eastern Washington 36–26
42 December 6, 2014^ Cheney, WA #4 Eastern Washington 37–20
43 November 14, 2015 Missoula, MT #22 Montana 57–16
44 October 29, 2016 Cheney, WA #3 Eastern Washington 35–16
45 September 23, 2017 Missoula, MT #11 Eastern Washington 48–41
46 October 26, 2019 Missoula, MT #10 Montana 34–17
47 October 2, 2021 Cheney, WA #6 Eastern Washington 34–28
48 December 3, 2021^ Missoula, MT #5 Montana 57–41
49 November 12, 2022 Missoula, MT #16 Montana 63–7
Series: Montana leads 30–18–1
^FCS postseason games; the Governors Cup was not at stake.
First game designated as Governors Cup was in 1998

Coaching records[edit]

Since 1980

Eastern Washington[edit]

Head Coach Team Games Seasons Wins Losses Ties Pct.
Dick Zornes EWU 13 1979–1993 6 6 1 .500
Mike Kramer EWU 6 1994–1999 1 5   .167 
Paul Wulff EWU 8 2000–2007 2 6   .250
Beau Baldwin EWU 10 2008–2016 6 4   .600
Aaron Best EWU 5 2017–2022 2 3   .400

Montana[edit]

Head Coach Team Games Seasons Wins Losses Ties Pct.
Larry Donovan Montana 5 1980–1985 1 3 1 .300
Don Read Montana 10 1986–1995 7 3   .700
Mick Dennehy Montana 4 1996–1999 3 1   .750
Joe Glenn Montana 3 2000–2002 2 1   .667
Bobby Hauck (a) Montana 7 2003–2009 6 1   .857
Robin Pflugrad Montana 2 2010–2012 1 1   .500
Mick Delaney Montana 4 2012–2014 0 4   .000
Bob Stitt Montana 3 2015–2017 1 2   .333
Bobby Hauck (b) Montana 4 2018–2022 3 1   .667
  • Only tie was in 1984; Big Sky enacted overtime for conference games in 1980;[13] all Division I games went to overtime in 1996.
  • Two games in 2014, regular season and FCS playoffs, both in Cheney and both won by Eastern
  • Not played: 1982, 2018, 2020, 2023
  • Eastern started conference play in 1987, and first Governors Cup against Montana was in 1998

Stadiums[edit]

Roos Field[edit]

Governors Cup sell-out (12,000)
at newly renamed Roos Field
in September 2010
Main articles: Eastern Washington Eagles football and Roos Field

With more than 2,000 bleacher seats added, record crowds of 11,702 in 2010 and 11,583 in 2006 attended the showdowns with Montana, the most recent match up in 2010 was won by the Eagles. The previous record before 2004 was 6,879 for the Eastern – Idaho game on October 17, 1992, when temporary bleachers were employed in addition to the 5,000 permanent seats. The top 25 attendances at Roos Field have come since the early 1990s, including the top eight in the last three seasons.

In February 2010, Eastern Washington announced its plans to remove the natural turf at Woodward Field and replace it with red SprinTurf, making it the second Division I college football program to have a non-green playing surface (Boise State changed to a blue surface in 1986.) On May 20, the university's board of trustees approved a name change to Roos Field, upon the successful completion of the project. All-pro offensive tackle Michael Roos donated a half million dollars to the project; a three-year starter for the Eagles,[22] he was a second round selection in the 2005 NFL Draft.

Washington–Grizzly Stadium[edit]

Main articles: Montana Grizzlies football and Washington–Grizzly Stadium

The stadium is named after construction magnate Dennis Washington, a Montana business pioneer who donated $1 million to finance its construction in 1985. The stadium has been expanded three times since its opening in 1986, most recently in 2008 with an upper deck expansion of 2,000 seats on the east side.

The original capacity in 1986 was 12,500 permanent seats on the sidelines with open grass seating behind the end zones, an approximate capacity of 15,000. Permanent seating for the end zones increased the seating capacity to over 19,000 in 1995, and a 2008 expansion pushed it over 25,000.

Eastern's first game at the stadium was in 1988; previous games were at Dornblaser Field.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Eastern Washington, Idaho set to resume gridiron rivalry featuring fresh, familiar faces | the Spokesman-Review".
  2. ^ "Montana favored to defeat Eastern Washington at Gonzaga tonight". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. September 20, 1947. p. 10.
  3. ^ "E.W.C. is ready for C.P.S.; Savage center is sidelined". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. September 20, 1947. p. 8.
  4. ^ "Too much power tells on E.W.C." Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. September 22, 1947. p. 16.
  5. ^ "City says stadium must be repaired". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. December 17, 1947. p. 1.
  6. ^ "Historic Gonzaga Stadium finally will be "retired"". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. April 8, 1949. p. 15.
  7. ^ "Savages blasted by Montana 52-0". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. September 25, 1950. p. 15.
  8. ^ "Cheney, Pirates, Lutes on today". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. September 18, 1948. p. 10.
  9. ^ "EWCE upsets favored U. of M." Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. September 20, 1948. p. 10.
  10. ^ Devlin, Vince (September 7, 1984). "Inland Empire college football to kick off 1984". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. p. 17.
  11. ^ "Eastern Washington accepted by Big Sky". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. December 11, 1986. p. 2C.
  12. ^ Washington State Game by Game against Opponents. Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine College Football Data Warehouse. Accessed November 26, 2007.
  13. ^ a b Kasper, John (September 25, 2013). "No. 48 Big Sky Innovation". Big Sky Conference. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  14. ^ "Injuries are main story of Eagle-Vandal game". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. October 16, 1984. p. B2.
  15. ^ Stewart, Chuck (October 20, 1984). "More than fruits, veggies at stake". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 17.
  16. ^ "Looking back: 10 years - Oct. 18, 1984". Cheney Free Press. Washington. October 13, 1994. p. 4.
  17. ^ "Eastern is healthy, record among best". Spokane Chronicle. October 23, 1984. p. B2.
  18. ^ "Eastern Washington vs. Idaho". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved June 9, 2016.
  19. ^ Blanchette, John (October 30, 1997). "Governor's Cup brings into play study of opposites". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. C1.
  20. ^ Bergum, Steve (October 24, 1998). "Nonetheless, Montana-EWU is a biggie". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. C1.
  21. ^ "Eagles to Take on Lumberjacks in Non-Conference Meetings". GoEags.com. November 2, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  22. ^ "Eastern lineman Roos on fast track of success". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. October 15, 2004. p. C1.
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