Rep. Pete Nielson, R-Mountain Home, introduced a resolution Thursday that, if passed by the full House, will honor the University of Idaho football team for its 2009 season and its win in the 2009 Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl.
Nielson testified before the committee that the Legislature should recognize the team for its change in attitude. He added that as a former coach, he knows how hard it can be for a team to change perceptions in such a short amount of time and he went on to commend second-year coach Rob Akey for working hard to do just that.
“They changed attitudes and gave us the type of football we can all be proud of,” said Nielsen.
The trip to the Humanitarian Bowl was Idaho’s first appearance in a bowl game since the end of the 1998 season when they played the same bowl. Since then, the program has gone through several head coaches, including Dennis Erickson, who is now the head coach at Arizona State, and Nick Holt, who is now the defensive coordinator at the University of Washington. The Vandals have not had a winning season since 1999.
The Vandals beat in the Falcons of Bowling Green on some late second heroics dialed up by Akey. With 4 seconds left in the game, Akey decided to go for two after scoring a touchdown on a quick strike by Vandal quarterback Nathan Enderle. With the game on the line during the two-point conversion try, Enderle made a daring pass to receiver Preston Davis to score and win the game.
Nielsen said Akey showed great confidence in his team and commended the coach for being willing to put it all on the line.
Earlier in the week, Nampa Republican Brent Crane introduced a resolution to honor the BSU football team for its win in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl over the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University.
The committee voted unanimously to introduce the resolution. The measure will now move to the full House for consideration.
[...] can read IdahoReporter.com’s coverage of the Vandal resolution here and the Br0nco resolution here. You can also read Rep. Grant Burgoyne’s, D-Boise, thoughts [...]
[...] resolution introduction was not the first for Nielsen. He also introduced a resolution honoring the University of Idaho football team for its win in the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl held in Boise on Dec. 30, 2009. The team, [...]
[...] resolution was not the first for Nielsen. He also introduced a resolution honoring the University of Idaho football team for its win in the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl held in Boise on Dec. 30, 2009. The Vandals [...]