A ‘campus-wide slumber party’: Gonzaga students brave freezing temps in first-ever Kennel Campout for women’s basketball game

Gonzaga University students have pitched tents on campus in cold, wet weather for nearly 20 years ahead of the men’s basketball team’s home openers and major matchups with conference opponents like Saint Mary’s.

But Friday marked the first time a pack of students dismissed the frigid temperatures and snow-covered grass to stake its tents for the women’s basketball team and its Saturday afternoon matchup with West Coast Conference foe and in-state rival Washington State University.

Kennel Club President Silje Squires and Kennel Club Campout Coordinator John Burns said they’ve been looking to host a Kennel Campout for a women’s basketball game. Burns said the club wanted to camp the night before last season’s upset win against third-ranked Stanford, which Squires said broke a student attendance record for a GU women’s game, but the logistics never came together.

“This year when we walked in, the whole (Kennel Club) board really knew this is something we had to make happen,” Burns said. “So, we’re fired up, in-state rivalry at home, big WCC matchup, it’s a good game to camp out for.”

Squires said the club wanted to build on the Stanford game and start a women’s basketball campout this year.

“I think part of that was building the momentum of a fan base in trying to get that to be a continual expectation that we have similar to the way we do with men’s games,” she said.

Squires said the club also chose the matchup because of the close competition between the two Washington schools the past two seasons.

The Cougars beat the Bulldogs in overtime last season in Pullman. Earlier this season, Gonzaga exacted revenge and beat WSU 69-61 on the Palouse.

Squires called the campouts a “campus-wide slumber party” where students can hang with their buddies.

“I think campouts is the epitome of being a Zag,” she said.

Squires said it’s one of the reasons she came to Gonzaga.

“It just shows that as a student section we’re that committed to showing up for our teams,” she said.

Students started setting up their tents Friday afternoon on a strip of grass just west of Mulligan Field and north of McCarthey Athletic Center.

Burns said he expected 30 tents to be pitched, a number with which he and Squires were extremely happy.

“Our students have really embraced the campout mentality,” Burns said.

Gonzaga seniors Kate McGuigan and Christina Woll were the first to set up on the snowy surface. They’ve camped out at several Kennel Campouts but understood this was the first one for a women’s game.

“I think that women’s sports should be appreciated a lot more than they are, so it’s just really fun to kind of come out and support the women,” McGuigan said.

She said the cold weather didn’t make them hesitate to come out, as they had blankets and sleeping bags to stay warm.

They earned “Tent 19,” meaning they have the 19th spot in line to get into the student section at Saturday’s game, scheduled for 2 p.m.

At 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, per tradition, the Kennel Club tweeted out its location on campus, which was the J.M. and Jessie Rosauer Center for Education building, and students ran to that spot. The first students who arrived earned the first spots in line for Saturday’s game. Wednesday also fell on National Girls & Women in Sports Day, another reason the club chose Saturday’s game for a campout, according to Squires.

“It was sweet to see people running all over for the women’s team just as they do for the men’s,” Burns said.

Woll said McGuigan and their other friends spread throughout campus waiting for the location to drop. One of the friends who ran for Woll, who has an injured foot, was the 19th student to arrive at the building.

Seniors Matthew Rinard and Kaden O’Keefe were setting their tent near Woll and McGuigan’s. The campout was Rinard’s fifth and O’Keefe’s first.

“It’s kind of like a staple here at Gonzaga, and I just haven’t really had the time my first couple years, so I wanted to try to finish strong and do it at least once,” O’Keefe said.

Rinard said he likes the sense of community the campout brings and recognized the historic importance of this one.

“I think being here at Gonzaga in the past four years, we’ve seen that the men’s team has gotten a little bit of the favoritism,” Rinard said. “And I think it’s just really cool to see that the women’s team, which is equally as good, to get the same type of support.”

He said it’s the first campout he’s attended with snow on the ground. Rinard and O’Keefe would be joined by four friends in their tent, which was Tent 4 – the best number Rinard has earned in his Kennel Campout history.

Rinard said he wanted to sit close to the band at the game.

“The energy’s a lot better, it’s super loud, gets you into the game,” he said.

O’Keefe said he was simply “trying to survive the cold weather” and wanted to support the women’s team.

He looked forward to hanging out with people, and his best friend planned to bring a Nintendo Switch to play Mario Party inside their tent.

Students had the opportunity to be active and stay warm, starting with a game of “knockout,” a type of basketball competition, with the women’s team on hand in the Rudolf Fitness Center, Burns said. The team then planned to dish out Pizza Hut pizza to the campers.

Silent Disco, a Gonzaga tradition in which students can put on headphones to listen to music and dance in the snow, was slated for later in the night.

Burritos provided by Gonzaga alumni are for breakfast Saturday morning, and a beer garden will be on tap Saturday, Burns said.

He said if the temperature dropped below 20 degrees, they would send students home. That was a possibility, given Friday night’s weather forecast.

Squires said the goal is to host one or two campouts for the women’s games each season.

“I’m stoked that we finally get to do one for the women, and I hope that it turns into a tradition, for sure,” she said.