Illinois assistant coach Dee Andros became head coach of the Vandals at age 37 at in February 1962 , and his starting annual salary was just under $ 12,500 . Andros served in the U.S. Marines during World War II and saw action at Iwo Jima ; he later played on the line at Oklahoma under Bud Wilkinson . The 1962 team was 2 – 6 – 1 , but the following year he led Idaho to its first winning season ( 5 – 4 ) in a quarter century . The tenth and final game of the 1963 season , a road game at Arizona State on November 23 was canceled , following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy . The Vandals won their opener in 1964 , but then lost four straight , the latter two were close ones to Oregon and Oregon State . The 10 – 7 loss to the Rose Bowl-bound Beavers in Corvallis came by a late third quarter OSU punt return . The Vandals rebounded and the next week won the Battle of the Palouse for the first time in a decade , defeating neighbor Washington State 28 – 13 . The Cougars were led by first-year head coach Bert Clark , a former Sooner teammate of Andros . The Vandals split the final four games to finish at 4 – 6 . While Idaho had joined Division I-AA and the Big Sky Conference as a charter member in 1963 , the Vandals remained an independent for football through 1964 under Andros . Only one conference foe was played during the first two Big Sky seasons , a 1963 game with Idaho State that was previously scheduled . Andros spent three seasons at Idaho , with an overall record of 11 – 16 – 1
independent
NCAA Division I FBS independent schools
Idaho Vandals football