WHEREAS, On the evening of January 7, 2011, the Eastern Washington University Eagles and the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens met for the NCAA Division I football championship game; and
     WHEREAS, Eastern Washington University qualified for the playoffs after winning a share of the 2010 Big Sky Conference football title, going 7-1 in conference play and finishing the regular season with a 9-2 record and the number-one ranking in all of NCAA Division I football; and
     WHEREAS, Upon entering the playoffs, Coach Beau Baldwin's squad proceeded to host and defeat Southeast Missouri State, North Dakota State, and Villanova universities, despite losing All-American running back Taiwan Jones in the second playoff game; and
     WHEREAS, The Eagles left Cheney for the championship game in Frisco, Texas, having achieved a perfect 8-0 record in their first year at the new home of Eagle football, Roos Field, known as "The Inferno" for its red turf; and
     WHEREAS, The Eagles trailed Delaware 19-0 late in the third quarter of the FCS championship, having gone scoreless in the first half for the first time all season, and knowing the Blue Hens were 6-0 in 2010 when their top-rated defense kept opponents off the board in the first half; and
     WHEREAS, Late-game heroics had already produced six wins for Eastern during the season, and that flair for comebacks displayed itself again as the Eagles caught fire, scoring three touchdowns in just 14 minutes to take a fourth-quarter lead over Delaware and ultimately triumph in their first national championship game by a 20-to-19 score; and
     WHEREAS, Senior linebacker J.C. Sherritt, winner of the 2010 Buck Buchanan Award as national defensive player of the year, set the Eastern career record for tackles at 432 and broke his own single season record with 176, counting his 18 tackles against the Blue Hens, who were held scoreless in their final four possessions; and
     WHEREAS, Junior quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who passed for the three second-half touchdowns against Delaware and set an Eastern record with 37 touchdown passes on the season, was selected as the game's Most Outstanding Player; and
     WHEREAS, The game-winning touchdown pass with less than three minutes to go was caught by sophomore wide receiver Brandon Kaufman, who finished with 120 yards receiving and two touchdowns; and
     WHEREAS, Sophomore Jeff Minnerly, who holds a 3.91 grade-point average in accounting while playing safety on a team with an overall grade-point average is 3.06, received the NCAA's "Elite 88" honor for being the student-athlete with the highest GPA at the national championship game; and
     WHEREAS, The Eagles' victory made January 7, 2011, the most exciting day in the history of Eastern Washington University athletics; and
     WHEREAS, It was the fifth time Eastern has reached the playoffs in seven years, and the second consecutive playoff appearance by the Eagles in Beau Baldwin's three years as football coach; and
     WHEREAS, 67 of the 89 players on the 2010 Eastern roster are Washingtonians, and 16 of the 22 Eastern players who started in the national championship game are eligible to return next year;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate congratulate Eastern Washington University, led by president Dr. Rodolfo Arévalo, and its national championship football team and honor the student-athletes and their coaches for this historic accomplishment.