Over 32,000 fans come out to Martin Stadium for every Washington State Cougars home game and it is always a treat for football fans. Even fans who are rooting for the visitor team will tell you that Martin Stadium games are some of the most intense games ever to be played with many great season highlights playing out before a loud and proud crowd. Even now, with the 2019 season well underway, Martin Stadium is still the place to go when you want to watch the very best in football action on this side of the country. This outdoor athletic stadium stands as a brilliant arena and the perfect place for Washington State University to defend their turf as one of the proud teams of the Pac-12 Conference.
If you have ever wanted to see the best in football action in one location, then you can’t possibly go wrong with all of the home games at Martin Stadium. Your favorite seasoned veterans join alongside up-and-coming rookies to prove their worth before fans of football from all nearby cities. With Glenn Johnson standing as the public address announcer and professor emeritus, it’s easy to see why the Cougars play to win whenever they come home. You could join the chant as Johnson calls out “…and that’s ANOTHER Cougar first down” as the team plows their way up the field. Don’t let yourself miss out on this chance to get the best seats in the stadium for this terrific football program.
If you blink then you could miss out on the great seats still available. Maybe you want to get up close and personal on the front row or enjoy a view of the entire field so you can try and figure out what strategies will play out next. No matter where you like to sit, we’re the best site to pick up your tickets.
Cheered on by a town that loves great football
Martin Stadium was named after Clarence D. Martin, the governor of Washington State from 1933-41 and a graduate of the University of Washington. Ever since then, the Washington State Cougars has always been involved in their home of Pullman, Washington. Not only do fans come out from Pullman and all nearby cities to catch every home game for the Cougars, but the mayor of Pullman himself, Glenn Johnson serving as the public announcer for the games. If you’ve ever been a part of the Washington State Cougars experience, then you can already hear Johnson calling out every first down alongside the chant from the crowds. While Pullman has every reason to love Washington State since he is also a professor emeritus for the university, this does show that the people of Pullman love their home team.
Then, why shouldn’t Pullman be proud of their hometown heroes given their historic achievements? Throughout its existence, the team has won four conference titles through the 2017 season and has made 15 Bowl game appearances with a record of 8-7. These appearances include four Rose Bowls, three Holiday Bowls, and appearances at the Alamo Bowl, Aloha Bowl, Copper Bowl, and New Mexico Bowl. The program most recently earned the distinction from 2015 – 2018 with four consecutive Bowl game appearances, the first in their history, beneath current head coach Mike Leach. So it’s an exciting time to see if he can keep up the momentum and lead the team to a fifth consecutive Bowl Game appearance.
But we can’t neglect to mention the rivalries that spur on the crowd and the team. Starting with the infamous rivalry between the Cougars and the Washington Huskies who have been competing for 119 years, since 1900. The current season series favors Washington with a record of 73-32-6 and the Huskies taking the last six games through 2018. The game has been named the Apple Cup due to the state’s reputation as a national producer of apples. Since 2011, the game is played on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Another intense rivalry is between Washington State and the University of Idaho since less than 8 miles separates the two campuses. The first game between the two campuses was played in November 1894. The series has been played on and off since 1978 with a revival as an annual game from 1998-2008 with the Cougars winning eight of the ten. Ever since Idaho returned to the FCS last season, it’s uncertain if the rivalry will still go on.
So will you join Pullman in celebrating their hometown heroes? Come out to the stadium for one of their home games to get started.
Why the Idaho Rivalry Has Been Intermittent
Rivalry games are always some of the most enjoyable for fans to watch, which is why some fans were disappointed when the ten-year annual revival of the Washington State vs Idaho rivalry was suspended. But there’s a story behind this that helps explain what happened.
To start, the Idaho Vandals had to borrow Martin Stadium for two and a half seasons from 1999-2001. Idaho was transitioning from Division I-AA back up to I-A and Kibbie Dome was too small to support NCAA attendance requirements. After the criteria were changed, Idaho went back to using Kibbie Dome for its home games ever since. At the time, The Vandals were still an FBS member before returning to the FCS play in the Big Sky Conference, which the rest of Idaho’s athletic programs rejoined in 2014.
Before this, in 1998, the rivalry was sparked in 1998 and the teams met up annually in what was called the Battle of the Palouse for a decade. The game was always played at Martin Stadium in September, except for the 2003 game that was far from the Palouse at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, then called Seahawks Stadium. After the ten year revival, Vandal head coach Bobb Akey and former WSU defensive coordinator famously stated that he didn’t want to play the rivalry game every year. From then on, the series ceased as an annual event after 2007. Both teams met up in 2013 and 2016, and their next scheduled battle is set for 2020.
Do you think that the history
and close associations between the team during these years should
cool the rivalry or should it return to being an annual event?