‘It feels different’: Vandal basketball success energizes UI campus

Historic conference tournament wins by Idaho’s men’s and women’s teams have students rallying behind a program many believe is entering a new era.

For University of Idaho students, the past week has felt different.

Group chats filled with score updates. Living rooms and fraternity basements turned into watch parties. Students who rarely talked about basketball suddenly began to discuss matchups and tournament brackets between classes.

After both the Idaho men’s and women’s basketball teams won the Big Sky Tournament and secured NCAA Tournament bids, excitement across campus has reached a level many students say they’ve never experienced.

The accomplishment is historic. Idaho’s women extended their winning streak to 18 games with a 60-57 win over Montana State in the Big Sky championship, securing the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016. Just hours later, the men’s team capped a remarkable tournament run by defeating Montana 77-66, sending the Vandals to March Madness for the first time since 1990.

The simultaneous success marks the first time in school history that both programs have reached the NCAA Tournament in the same season.

For many students, the moment feels bigger than basketball.

“It feels like everywhere you go on campus, people are talking about the teams,” freshman Joseph Frye said. “Even people like myself who don’t normally follow basketball were watching the tournament games this week.”

Students across campus gathered to watch the games together, turning what is typically a quiet week in March, as students finish up their midterms, into a series of celebrations.

Senior Jacob Bacome watched the men’s championship game surrounded by his fraternity brothers.

“We were in the basement of our house, and everyone was on their feet for the final minutes of the game,” Bacome said. “As a senior, I would’ve been happy just to see one team go, so seeing both is really cool.”

For Bacome, the moment represents something he hadn’t experienced during his first three years at Idaho.

“This is the most excited about basketball I’ve ever seen Idaho students,” he said. “The team hasn’t been great the last few years, but now we finally have a team worth watching.”

Sophomore Haiden Delong said the men’s team’s late-season turnaround made the run more memorable.

“Halfway through the men’s season, we hit a cold streak, and I didn’t think we were going to do well in the tournament,” Delong said. “But Idaho got hot at the right time, and that’s all that matters. For me, as a student, it’s really cool to see our athletics, especially basketball, punch their ticket to the Big Dance.”

While the tournament victories happened 300 miles away in Boise, the excitement spread back to Moscow.

“It’s pretty cool as a first-year student to come in during a moment like this,” Frye said. “Seeing both teams make March Madness at the same time makes you feel like you picked the right school.”

The excitement didn’t end when the final buzzer sounded. When the teams returned to campus, students showed up to welcome them.

“I attended the rally to welcome the teams back, and despite it being rainy and cold, a lot of people showed up, and everyone was in good spirits,” Bacome said.

The achievements create a stronger sense of connection across campus, one student said.

“I think a moment like this brings a lot of energy to campus and it brings the community together,” Delong said. “I definitely think this moment changes how people see Idaho athletics, especially in basketball.”

Jack DeWitt, former sports editor of the student newspaper, the Argonaut, said UI’s advancement to both NCAA tournaments is “probably the biggest moment” for the Vandals in 20 years.

“Vandal athletics has had a few bright spots, but these wins signal that times are changing and that the dark days of Vandal athletics are coming to an end,” DeWitt said.

DeWitt said seeing both teams reach the NCAA Tournament in the same season places Idaho among a rare group of programs nationwide.

“Both of them making it to the tournament is something that might fly under some people’s radar, but it shouldn’t,” DeWitt said. “Only a few schools have been able to accomplish it this year. It’s a short but elite list of programs who compete at a high level, and seeing UI on it shows how committed the entire athletic department is to success.”

For students, that success can translate into something simple but powerful: pride in the school they represent.

“Being able to take pride in the teams that wear your school’s logo is something that is almost indescribable,” DeWitt said. “These players and coaches have really raised the level of what it means to be a Vandal.”

Students say that sense of pride has already begun showing up in everyday conversations around campus.

Bacome believes the success may also help shift how Idaho is viewed within the Big Sky Conference.

“I think we’ve changed our perception in the Big Sky,” Bacome said. “We can finally start calling other schools rivals now that we’re competitive again.”

That optimism is something DeWitt believes can shape the culture of the university beyond sports.

“The fabric of the Vandal community becomes tighter when you see your classmates have success like that,” DeWitt said. “It inspires you to follow in their footsteps.”