Eastern Washington University Athletics

Coached by inaugural Hall of Fame member Dave Holmes, Eastern won its first 11 games of the season and advanced to the NAIA Championship game in Morgantown, W.V. Although the Savages lost to Fairmont State 28-21 for the championship, the runner-up finish was a ground-breaking achievement for a school that would undergo huge growth athletically and academically in the years to come. From back-to-back winless seasons in the early 60's, Holmes built the Eastern program into a powerhouse with records of 8-1 and 7-1-1 in 1965 and 1966, respectively. With the "New Woodward Field" making its debut in 1967, Eastern won all four of its home games en route to a perfect 6-0 record in the Evergreen Conference. Several close, come-from-behind victories were added to a trio of shutouts -- 45-0 over Whitworth, 27-0 over College of Idaho and a 68-0 romp over Whitworth that ended the regular season. A 28-14 victory over New Mexico Highlands in the NAIA semifinals earned Eastern a berth to the 12th annual NAIA Champion Bowl. The passing combination of Bill Diedrick to Dave Svendsen was devastating all season long as Diedrick set Eastern and conference records for total offense (2,066 yards), passing yards (1,995) and touchdown passes (25), and Svendsen set new school and EvCo marks for receptions (57), reception yards (979) and touchdown receptions (12). Both earned NAIA All-America honors -- Svendsen on the first team and Diedrick on the second team. Defensive end Vern Garland, a team captain along with Roger Berg, earned honorable mention All-America honors as well as halfback Ray Stookey and guard Rolf Oxos. Besides the All-Americans, players on the Little All-Northwest team were center Greg Gavin, defensive tackle John Halfmoon, tight end Roger Cramer, strong safety Robin Rexius, linebacker Bill Wall and fullback Pat Zlateff. Dick Zornes, a legendary football coach and Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame member, was a graduate assistant coach on the 1967 football team.