New era in Vandal athletics
Former Idaho basketball player Alyssa Charlston defends during practice Thursday, Jan. 30, in the Cowan Spectrum. Charlston signed a professional basketball contract with Amicale Steinsel in Luxemboury over the summer.
On July 1, 2014, Idaho began a new era with its move to new conferences. The Vandals are now football only members in the Sun Belt, while the other sports — except for swimming and diving, which remain in the WAC — compete in the Big Sky.
UI spent the previous nine years with the WAC, with the exception of football, which spent eight years in the conference and was an independent last year.
Idaho was affiliated with both conferences for its inaugural years. The Big Sky was founded in 1963 and the Vandals spent 32 years there before leaving in 1995. The Idaho football team was with the Sun Belt for its first year in 2001, and left the conference in 2004.
The football team’s first conference game is on Sept. 6, at Louisiana-Monroe.
2014 Hall of Fame class announced
The Idaho athletic department announced its 2014 Hall of Fame class.
• Bob and Jan Cowan: The namesake of the Cowan Spectrum.
• Jake Scott: Played offensive guard on Idaho’s 2000-03 football teams and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL Draft.
• Russ Winger: Six-time NCAA All-American as a thrower on Idaho’s 2004-08 indoor and outdoor track and field teams.
• Jackie Ross: Owns the school record for the outdoor triple jump and was Big Sky Indoor Field Athlete of the year in 1990, 1991 and 1992.
• Sherrie Crang: The 1982 AIAW National Champion in the 3,000 meters.
• 1966-73 Men’s Tennis teams: Won seven consecutive Big Sky titles.
• 1937-41 Cross Country teams: Won four consecutive Pacific Coast Conference titles.
The class will officially be inducted on Sept. 12, with a banquet at the University Inn-Best Western. They will also be recognized the next day at the football game, when Idaho takes on Western Michigan.
Rivals return to Guy Wicks
The Vandal soccer team will welcome rival schools, Boise State and Washington State to Guy Wicks field this season.
“Anytime we can play them as an in-state rival is exciting for us,” Idaho coach Derek Pittman said of Boise State. “Hopefully that game will continue each and every year.”
The 20-game schedule features nine home games with the home opener on Aug. 24, against TCU. BSU and WSU come to Moscow on Sept. 5 and Sept. 14, respectively.
Alyssa Charleston goes pro
The former women’s basketball standout is taking her talents to Luxembourg to play for Amicale Steinsel.
Located in Steinsel, Luxembourg, Amicale is one of eight teams in the Luxembourg Total League. In 2012, Amicale won the Vainqueur Coupe des Dames, which translates to Ladies Cup Winner. The team, however, has struggled in recent years, and finished sixth last season.
Charlston set a school record for consecutive games played with 130, finished fifth in career points with 1,587, and fourth in blocks and rebounds with 128 and 855, respectively.
“My coaches really have made me the player that I am today,” Charlston said. “I didn’t even know that playing overseas was going to be a completely viable option. I always dreamed about it, but I didn’t know it would actually happen.”
Charlston will join Amicale in September for the start of preseason — the first regular season game is Oct. 4.