2010 CWU Football Schedule

ELLENSBURG (June 24) -- The Central Washington University football team will renew its in-state rivalry against Eastern Washington University at a familiar venue when the two teams take the field on Sept. 11, as the Wildcats and Eagles will square off at Qwest Field in Seattle for a 6 p.m. kickoff.

This year's game between CWU and EWU, which will be co-hosted by the two schools and donned as the "Showdown on the Sound", is one of two contests that the Wildcats will play at Qwest Field in 2010. Central will face Western Oregon University in Battle in Seattle VIII on Oct. 16, and will wear the visiting white jerseys in both games at Qwest Field this season.

Central, which competes as a member of the NCAA Division II and the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, and Eastern, which is now a member of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and the Big Sky Conference, were longtime rivals dating back to the first series meeting in 1921. Overall, the two schools have played 67 times previously (Eastern leads the series 33-30-4), but only six of those meetings have come since Eastern became a NCAA member in the 1980s. Central won the last meeting between the two schools, 21-14, in Cheney in 2006.

Central Washington and Eastern Washington perennially rank among the most successful college football programs in the state. Central advanced to the NCAA Division II national quarterfinals last season, finishing with a school-record 12 victories before falling to eventual national champion Northwest Missouri State, 21-20, in the playoffs. The Wildcats, led by third-year head coach Blaine Bennett (Whitworth, 1987; 22-3 at CWU; 49-35 overall in eight seasons), have qualified for the NCAA postseason each of the past three years and four times in the previous eight campaigns. They finished third in the Division II national poll in 2009 after being ranked number one at the end of the regular season.

Eastern is guided by third-year head coach and CWU alumnus ('96) Beau Baldwin (14-9 at EWU; 24-12 overall in three seasons), who guided Central to a 10-3 record and a NCAA Division II quarterfinal appearance in his lone season as the Wildcats' head coach in 2007. The Eagles posted an 8-4 record last season and qualified for the NCAA Division I-FCS playoffs for the fourth time in six years. They were ranked 13th in the final I-FCS national poll.

Baldwin is not the only former Wildcat among the Eastern football and athletics staff. Four current Eagle assistant coaches and two athletic administrators have ties to Central as students, student-athletes, and/or as coaches.

Tickets for the game will be available through Ticketmaster, the Qwest Field stadium box office, and other locations to be announced. Further game and ticket information will be posted online at www.wildcatsports.com as it becomes available.

Central Washington will play eight of its 11 games in 2010 in the state of Washington, including six home games at Tomlinson Stadium and the two games at Qwest Field. The Wildcats open their schedule with an Aug. 28 home game against perennial Division II power Minnesota Duluth at Tomlinson Stadium (1 p.m. Pacific).