Northwest Notes Aug. 26, 2026

Idaho announces 2026-27 men's basketball schedule

A Black Friday matchup with Washington State, a holiday trip to Arizona State, and a battle with the Pac-12’s Colorado State highlight Idaho men’s basketball’s 2026-27 non-conference schedule, announced Tuesday.

“As we build our schedule, we look for a good combination of challenges at home and on the road that will prepare us for Big Sky play,” said Vandal head coach Alex Pribble of Idaho’s 12-game nonconference slate. “Much like last year, we want to be playing our best basketball in February and March, so it's important that we learn the right lessons early in the year."

The Vandals will begin the new season on Monday, Nov. 2, inside the friendly confines of ICCU Arena against George Fox, before traveling to Fort Collins, Colo., to face Colorado State, who is coming off a 21-win season that saw the Rams qualify for postseason play for the fifth time in six years. 

"It's nice to have seven nonconference home games, including a North Dakota State team that won 27 games last year, and a couple of Big West teams that we expect to be very good this year,” Pribble said. “We are also excited about the opportunity to play against top-level competition from the Big 12, Pac-12, and Mountain West."

The Big West’s Cal Poly (Nov. 13) and CSU Bakersfield (Nov. 20) will each visit the Palouse after Idaho faced them in the Golden State a year ago, while North Dakota State’s Dec. 8 trip to ICCU Arena will be its first to Moscow since 2008.

"With the additional conference games this year, we have the added challenge of playing tough Big Sky road games early in December," Pribble added.

The game against the Bison will follow a nearly two-week interruption of the Vandals’ non-conference schedule for two Big Sky contests against Northern Colorado and Portland State.

Additional features of Idaho’s 2026-27 schedule include Nov. 18 in Reno against 2026 NIT quarterfinalists Nevada, the 281st Battle of the Palouse against Washington State on Nov. 27, and a Dec. 23 trip to Arizona State.

Idaho’s entire 2026-27 schedule, including the previously announced Big Sky slate, follows.

Home games in CAPS

*Big Sky games

11/2 – GEORGE FOX 

11/6 – at Colorado State 

11/8 – LINCOLN 

11/13 – CAL POLY 

11/18 – at Nevada 

11/20 – CSU BAKERSFIELD 

11/23 – DICKINSON STATE

11/27 – at Washington State 

12/3 – at Northern Colorado*

12/5 – at Portland State*

12/8 – NORTH DAKOTA STATE 

12/12 – at South Dakota State

12/18 – NW INDIAN COLLEGE 

12/23 – at Arizona State

12/31 – UTAH TECH*

1/2 – SOUTHERN UTAH*

1/9 – NORTHERN ARIZONA*

1/14 – at Montana*

1/16 – at Montana State*

1/18 – at Weber State*

1/23 – EASTERN WASHINGTON*

1/25 – IDAHO STATE*

1/28 – PORTLAND STATE*

1/30 – NORTHERN COLORADO*

2/4 – at Southern Utah*

2/6 – at Utah Tech*

2/11 – MONTANA STATE*

2/13 – MONTANA*

2/18 – at Northern Arizona*

2/22 – WEBER STATE*

2/27 – at Eastern Washington*

3/1 – at Idaho State*

Vandals announce football captains for 2026 season.

MOSCOW — Idaho football coach Thomas Ford Jr. announced the four captains  for the season — quarterback Joshua Wood, offensive lineman Layton Vining, linebacker Cruz Hepburn and defensive back Zach Wusstig.

Wood, a second-year Vandal and now two-time captain, is set to be Idaho's third back-to-back Week 1 starter under center in the last decade (Matt Linehan, Gevani McCoy). In 10 games last season, Wood completed 58% of his passes for nearly 1,900 yards and 14 TDs to just five interceptions. He carried the rock 86 times for 589 yards (6.8 YPC) and seven scores, including reaching the end zone three times vs. Montana.

Vining, the leader of the offensive line and the elder statesman among the group, started 12 games last year for the second year in a row, having accumulated 29 total in his career. The senior center has drawn praise from both his head coach and offensive line coach and run game coordinator Loren Endsley (Lake City High grad) for his high football IQ and leadership traits. Vining is set to anchor an offensive line that returns four of its five starters from 2024 and has a combined 83 starts among them. 

Hepburn, a former baseball player at his hometown Lewis-Clark State College, came to Idaho in time for the 2024 season and switched from shortstop to linebacker, appearing in 11 games and totaling six tackles on special teams. He had a breakout campaign in 2025, cracking the starting lineup and totaling 71 tackles, with six for loss, a sack, and returned a fumble for a touchdown. He enters his fifth year as the Vandals' leading returning tackler and will be a driving force for first-year defensive coordinator Lee Stalker.

Wusstig has played his entire career in the Big Sky Conference. He's is in his second season at Idaho after transferring from Portland State. In his first year in Moscow, the senior safety played in 11 games, starting 10 of them. He racked up 49 total tackles, with 2.5 for loss and a pair of pass breakups. 

"Our four captains this year are all guys that exemplify what it means to be a Vandal," said Ford. "They're tough, hardworking guys that truly care about their teammates. Each one of them received 65 or more votes from their peers, but it wasn't a surprise because of the way they have led since January. These guys not only lead by example but also held others around them accountable, and put in a tremendous amount of time getting to know their teammates. Very proud of these young men and am excited to see them lead this season."