More than 100 years ago, the very first football game Washington State University and the University of Idaho played in either of their respective program histories was against each other. Since that first game, Idaho and WSU have had a long-standing, friendly rivalry.
That is, until 2007 when Idaho coach Robb Akey decided the Battle of the Palouse should be a “once in a while” kind of thing and put the rivalry on indefinite pause.
Last weekend was an opportunity to renew that relationship with our neighbors across the border. Our schools are 8 miles away, but with the amount of university-sponsored interaction we have with each other, it may as well be 800.
The game on Saturday was a perfect opportunity to arouse some of that friendly competition and mutual fun, except WSU and UI students alike don’t seem to care about it.
Traditions such as the Losers Walk have offered fun competition for those on the Palouse. And while Vandals have out-walked Cougars exponentially, when UI did win the game in 1954, it resulted in thousands of WSU students making the trek to Moscow.
This year, ASUI and ASWSU made an informal agreement to bring the tradition back and with it, a consummation of the revived rivalry. Come Sunday morning when a small group of Vandals walked to Pullman following a 42-0 loss, members of ASWSU were nowhere to be seen. UI held up their end of the bargain, WSU flaked.
It is not up to the football players and coaches to renew this rivalry — they operate on a game-to-game basis, placing equal emphasis on every game of the respective 12 game schedules. It is up to the students. It can’t be a rivalry without the participation of the student body and respective university communities. The Battle of the Palouse could be an annual opportunity to unite our two schools in competition, bring back alumni and fans to the area and create one day per year when WSU and UI actually torecognize one other.
There are so many WSU and UI alumni who look back on the Battle of the Palouse from 20-30 years ago and remember it fondly. Years from now, we should be among them. But it can’t happen without student engagement. And that starts with more than just a few Vandals participating in the Losers Walk, and the Cougars holding up their end of the bargain to make this a rivalry worth remembering.
–KM