Less than eight miles of rolling Palouse farmland separate Moscow, Idaho from Pullman, Washington — but that short stretch of highway has been the setting for one of college sports’ most storied regional rivalries. Since 1894, the Idaho Vandals and Washington State Cougars have competed in football, basketball, and nearly every sport between them, building a tradition that reaches back before either campus had paved roads connecting them.
Today, the Bill Chipman Palouse Trail links the two towns by foot or bicycle. A century ago, the connection was made in a far more spirited fashion.
The Walkathon Years
From 1938 to 1968, the rivalry produced one of the more colorful traditions in Pacific Northwest college athletics: the Walkathon. After each football game, students from the losing school were expected to make the walk to the winner’s campus the following week. The tradition was as much a public display of humility as it was a celebration of proximity.
In 1954, the walk fell to Washington State — and it was a long time coming. That year, approximately 2,000 Cougar students made the trek to Moscow after Idaho handed them a loss, the first time Washington State had fallen to the Vandals in 29 years. It stands as one of the rivalry’s more vivid images: a column of Cougar fans marching east down the corridor between campuses to acknowledge defeat.
Washington State has not had to make that walk very often in football. The Cougars lead the all-time football series 74-17-3, a winning percentage hovering around .800. Their dominance includes a 26-game unbeaten streak against Idaho spanning 1926 to 1953, a run of more than 20 consecutive wins across the 1930s and 1940s, and a current streak of 11 straight victories dating to 2001. Their most lopsided performance came in 1975, when Washington State defeated Idaho 84-27.
But the series has had its moments of Idaho defiance. In 1907, the Vandals threw the first forward pass in program history — against the Cougars, in drop-kick formation during the fourth quarter — and won 5-4. The game was a snapshot of early college football’s experimental era, and Idaho came out on top.
Fire, Displacement, and a Divided Rivalry
The rivalry took an unusual turn in the late 1960s when both programs lost their home stadiums to fire within months of each other. Idaho’s Neale Stadium burned in November 1969. Washington State’s Rogers Field followed in April 1970. Both fires were suspected to be arson. With neither school having a home venue, the 1970 game was relocated to Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane — dubbed the Displaced Bowl — where the teams played on artificial turf for the first time in rivalry history. Washington State won.
The structural divide deepened in 1978, when the NCAA split college football into two tiers. Washington State moved to what is now the Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in a power conference, while Idaho dropped to the Football Championship Subdivision and joined the Big Sky Conference. The separation in competitive levels meant the two programs met only twice in football between 1979 and 1997. A rivalry that had been annual for decades suddenly became a rarity.
Basketball Keeps the Tradition Alive
While football meetings grew scarce, basketball maintained the rivalry’s heartbeat. The two programs have played men’s basketball every year since 1906, with Washington State holding a 168-115 series advantage. Some of those games produced moments that still resonate in Moscow.
In December 1982, Idaho defeated Washington State in overtime before a crowd of 11,000 fans packed into the Kibbie Dome. That Idaho team was ranked in the national top ten and was on its way to a Sweet Sixteen appearance — one of the program’s finest seasons on record.
The basketball series hit a pause after 2021 due to NCAA NET metric scheduling rules that complicated non-conference matchups between programs at different competitive levels. The series resumed in 2023, and the matchup is set to continue in Pullman. The Battle of the Palouse is scheduled to return with a WSU-Idaho matchup that will again bring the two campuses together on the hardwood.
What Comes Next
The Battle of the Palouse is more than a sports rivalry — it is a reflection of two communities whose identities have been shaped by proximity, competition, and shared geography. As both programs look ahead to the 2026 season, Idaho fans in Latah County will be watching closely. The Vandals have already added multiple ESPN appearances and transfer reinforcements heading into the fall, signaling that the program is building toward relevance on the national stage. Whether the eight miles between Moscow and Pullman ever narrows on the scoreboard remains to be seen — but the rivalry itself shows no signs of fading.
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