1997 Eastern Washington Eagles football team

The 1997 Eastern Washington Eagles football team represented Eastern Washington University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Mike Kramer, the Eagles compiled an overall record of 6–5, with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, and finished as Big Sky champion. The Eagles advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs and were defeated by Youngstown State in the semifinal.

1997 Eastern Washington Eagles football
Big Sky champion
NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal, L 14–25 vs. Youngstown State
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 6
Record	12–2 (7–1 Big Sky)
Head coach	Mike Kramer (4th season)
Home stadium	Woodward Field Joe Albi Stadium
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Big Sky Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 6 Eastern Washington $^		7	–	1					12	–	2
No. 11 Montana ^		6	–	2					8	–	4
Montana State		5	–	3					6	–	5
Northern Arizona		4	–	4					6	–	5
Weber State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Cal State Northridge		4	–	4					4	–	8
Portland State		3	–	5					4	–	7
Idaho State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Sacramento State		1	–	7					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Cal State Northridge record includes two losses by forfeit Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	Rocky Mountain*		Woodward Field Cheney, WA	W 63–7	2,063	[1]
September 13	Eastern Oregon*		Woodward Field Cheney, WA	W 38–14	1,806	[2]
September 20	at Portland State	No. 21	Civic Stadium Portland, OR	W 31–14	8,216	[3]
September 27	Weber State	No. 21	Woodward Field Cheney, WA	W 35–11	3,574	[4]
October 4	at Montana State	No. 20	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 7–17	11,107	[5]
October 11	Sacramento State		Woodward Field Cheney, WA	W 30–17	2,445	[6]
October 18	at No. 2 Montana	No. 20	Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (rivalry)	W 40–35	19,019	[7]
October 25	Idaho State	No. 12	Woodward Field Cheney, WA	W 51–7	3,605	[8]
November 1	Idaho*	No. 11	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	W 24–21	7,756	[9]
November 8	at No. 16 Northern Arizona	No. 8	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	W 31–14	12,093	[10]
November 15	Cal State Northridge	No. 6	Woodward Field Cheney, WA	W 39–32	4,179	[11]
November 29	No. 21 Northwestern State*	No. 6	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 40–10	6,384	[12]
December 6	No. 5 Western Kentucky*	No. 6	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	W 38–21	6,829	[13]
December 13	No. 4 Youngstown State*	No. 6	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	L 14–25	8,529	[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game