Vandals Closer To I-A Status Ncaa Grants Two-Year Grace Period, But Vandals Must Boost Attendance

One enormous hurdle down. One huge hurdle to go.

The NCAA Board of Directors approved a two-year waiver on Tuesday for Idaho, allowing Vandals football games to count toward the Division I-A six-win bowl requirement.

The waiver passed by a 6-2 vote, with one abstention, an NCAA official said.

Idaho’s recruiting and scheduling have been hampered the past two years because of its I-AA classification, though it competes in the I-A Big West Conference. I-A schools were reluctant to schedule Idaho because it wouldn’t count toward the bowl requirement.

“It’s a great day for the University of Idaho and it certainly takes away the stigma of telling young people our games don’t count,” UI athletic director Oval Jaynes said.

With the waiver in hand, Idaho now will press forward with its plan to play home football games at Washington State’s 37,600-seat Martin Stadium, beginning in 1999.

Playing in a stadium larger than Idaho’s Kibbie Dome (16,000 capacity) is necessary because the Vandals face one more challenge before achieving I-A status: averaging 17,000 attendance (tickets sold) for one season.

Since it will play games in the Kibbie Dome next season, Idaho is pointing toward 1999 in Martin Stadium to reach 17,000.

It won’t be easy. Idaho averaged 12,428 for home games in 1997. The Vandals’ highest average was 14,400 in 1983.

Idaho has a preliminary agreement with WSU to lease Martin Stadium. UI president Bob Hoover hopes to work out final arrangements in the next few months. That agreement would have to be approved by the Idaho Board of Education.

The Vandals’ 1999 home schedule includes league contests against North Texas, Utah State, Arkansas State and rival Boise State. UI also anticipates playing WSU in a game that will be considered a Vandals’ home game. The last UI-WSU game in Martin Stadium drew 33,914 in 1989.

WSU probably wouldn’t have played UI if the Vandals didn’t receive the waiver, Jaynes said. The two schools might resume their rivalry this season.

The waiver allows the Vandals to spruce up future schedules, including playing big-money road games to help the athletic department budget.

“Over the next three to five years, we have some commitments to playing Wyoming, New Mexico, Iowa State, San Diego State, I-A teams that historically we haven’t had the opportunity to have on our home schedule,” Jaynes said.

The proposed move to Martin Stadium has left some Vandals supporters angry. Jaynes hopes that bitterness can be set aside as the Vandals chase 17,000.

Idaho would probably lease Martin Stadium for at least 5 years, Hoover said. He wasn’t certain when UI would return to the Dome.

“This is obviously fabulous news for our program,” UI football coach Chris Tormey said. “It gives us a chance to compete on equal footing with other teams in our conference.”

UI, which moved into the Big West in 1996, based its waiver case on the NCAA’s failure to inform the Vandals that its games wouldn’t count toward the bowl requirement, Hoover said.

“We asked what the negative consequences were,” said Hoover, who wasn’t UI’s president at the time. “We were told we wouldn’t count in I-AA standings and we couldn’t play in the I-AA playoffs.

“They said we would be eligible to represent (the Big West) in a bowl game.”

Hoover added that Buffalo and Connecticut more recently inquired about moving up from I-AA and were told their games wouldn’t meet bowl requirements.

“We argued that we’d been treated differently than teams that came after us,” Hoover said.

Idaho had asked for a three-year waiver, but happily accepted two.

Now, provided the state board approves of leasing Martin Stadium, the Vandals control their destiny in terms of reaching I-A.

Hoover said various plans are in the works to generate fan support. If UI averages 17,000 in 1999, it would become I-A entering the 2000 season.

“We’ve got to do a good job of selling this to friends and alumni,” Jaynes said.

, DataTimes