For some college towns, the way their football season is going could make or break them.
A good team leads to more people showing up to games, and celebrating when they are over. A good season means potential for home playoff games, which can keep local businesses booming late into the winter months.
One of these places is Moscow, Idaho. With about 25,000 people living there, Moscow is by no means a big city. The University of Idaho currently has just over 12,000 students, almost half the amount of the general population in the city. Obviously, the school makes a huge impact on the city economically, and Vandal football is a large part of that.
On gameday, the Kibbie Dome attracts over 15,000 people, and that only counts the people who make it to the game, not those tailgating outside or watching the game somewhere else.
The Idaho Vandals moved from the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) to the FBS (formerly Division I-A) in 1996. During its time in the FCS, the Kibbie Dome was the second-smallest FBS venue. The major difference between the two divisions is the postseason structure. The FBS plays in bowl games, where the FCS plays in a more traditional tournament structure. In the FCS, teams have an opportunity to play multiple playoff games on their home turf, all the way up until the National Championship. If an FCS team makes the championship, it is playing until January when the regular season ends in November. That is potentially 6 weeks of extra play and economic success for the city. Idaho moved back to the FCS in 2017 and has stayed since.
One place in Moscow that benefits from a successful football season is the Corner Club, Moscow’s oldest sports bar. Built in 1948, the bar is covered in Vandal memorabilia and jerseys of previous Idaho players that have gone into professional sports. Other than the Kibbie Dome, it is the place to be on game days.
Marc Trivelpiece started as a bartender at the Corner Club during his college days, but he now owns and manages the bar with his wife, Stacey.
He said that the amount of customers more than doubles on Idaho game weekends versus any other weekend. On those nights, the staff moves tables out to create more space, put a fence up for overflow parking and rent tents when it starts to get colder.
One of the issues that Moscow runs into as it gets further into the season is the fact that students are away for Christmas break.
“We run into the issue of our student base being 300 miles away so the further we go into Christmas break, the harder it is to get fans,” Trivelpiece said. “Hopefully that changes this season.”
Last season, Idaho had two home playoff games, meaning two more winter weekends of football. Those games were the first playoff games held in the Kibbie Dome since the Vandals returned to the FCS. When Idaho was in the FBS, it played in three bowl games, all three being the Humanitarian/Famous Idaho Potato Bowl held in Boise, about a 5 ½ hour drive from Moscow.
The Vandals are 5-3 on the season with notable losses to FBS Oregon and Montana State University. This is a similar start as Idaho had last season when it was 6-2 through 8 games. Another playoff berth for the Vandals, especially if it can hold onto a high seed, could mean extra football weekends for Moscow.
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