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The spirit for the Jacks filled the Sioux Falls Arena for the South Dakota State Summit League basketball games. Fans and alumni traveled from all over the country to make sure they had the chance to represent their blue and yellow.
"I was an avid fan when I was a student. I've always been an avid fan; I bleed yellow and blue," SDSU graduate Perry Wiechmann said.
"Being on the east coast, it's refreshing to see the brand of basketball that's played out here. It's so fundamentally solid both the men's and women's so it's really fun to watch," SDSU graduate Dave Shelbourne said.
Shelbourne currently lives in Boston. Yet despite the distance, he says both the men and women's teams have been exciting to watch this year.
"I think it's so cool. You know the bracket buster game on ESPN U, we were down in Orlando then and we were sitting at the pool watching the game from my wife's laptop yelling and screaming as they made their good plays," Shelbourne said.
But South Dakota State University graduates aren't the only ones out here watching the games this weekend. In fact, alumni basketball players are out here as well.
"This is my first time back to the Summit League tournament I played in the '09 team, graduated in '09 and it's just so exciting to be back here and watch the Jackrabbits," SDSU graduate Stacie Aamlid said.
And while the women have won the Summit League Tournament each of the past three years, fans believe the men have a shot at their first Summit title this season.
"We're really excited that SDSU's men are doing so well this year. Hoping they win this tournament and go on to the 64 and so proud of Coach Nagy and his Jackrabbits and how they represent the state of South Dakota," SDSU graduate Denise Aamlid said.
Fans hope this weekend won't be the end to the Jackrabbits season, but the beginning of a road to the Big Dance.
"It would just be exciting to have both the women and the men in the NCAA tournament and so we're very anxious and excited to see what the outcomes will be," Aamlid said.
And with only a handful of seniors graduating this year from both teams, fans hope the excitement can carry on well into next year.
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