“You still do that Collegian stuff?” a former classmate asked me when we ran into each other at a restaurant recently.

We hadn’t spoken since first semester of freshman year when we both took Speech 101.

“Yes,” I replied. We talked for a minute before retreating to our respective group of friends.

It occurred to me later that he probably didn’t remember my name. He just knew me as “the girl from The Collegian.”

That wasn’t the first time this newspaper had been my sole identification. When a friend introduced me as Heather to a couple of friends last summer, one knew my last name. I had never seen this guy before, but he recognized me from the paper.

I guess that kind of identification comes with tenure.

The summer before my freshman year, my father, who graduated from SDSU with a journalism degree, told me I had to work at the university newspaper to gain experience. Within my first week at SDSU, I applied for a job as a reporter. I have been involved with The Collegian in some shape or form since.

Working at The Collegian sucks. The pay is so bad that most of us have second jobs to pay rent. We don’t sleep Tuesday nights and usually work 30 hours a week. Friendships, GPAs and health suffer as they are put on the back burner. Some people don’t treat us with respect because we aren’t a “real” newspaper. And anytime we make a mistake, at least 20 people will scold us for carelessness and recommend that we put more effort into our work.

Yet, being at The Collegian has been the single most rewarding experience of my college career. I have experienced some amazing things that most students don’t even have the opportunity to do. Indianapolis Colts kicker and former Jackrabbit Adam Vinatieri called me for an interview while I was doing French homework. Former President Peggy Miller gave me interior design tips as we toured Woodbine Cottage and her Volga home. And my favorite story that I wrote for The Collegian-about married student-athletes who have a one-year-old-was recognized by a professional journalism organization.

As a journalist, I learned more in a tiny office in The Union basement than in highly sophisticated classrooms. And anytime I thought about a different career, The Collegian reminded me I am reporter at heart.

I have also met some amazing aspiring journalists through The Collegian. My fellow staff members have become some of my best friends because they understand what I go through unlike anyone else. These are lifelong friends.

But the greatest thing about The Collegian is the person it has transformed me into today. I now have the confidence to standup for what I believe in and tell someone when I think they are wrong. I now have the courage to chase dreams and the ability to laugh at myself when I fail.

The Collegian is my life, and I am terrified of what life will be like without it. I put my heart and soul into these pages. And if people don’t remember my name, but if they remember that, I will take it as a compliment.

The SDSU community may be able to vote on a new Jackrabbit design as early as next week, Jackrabbit mascot redesign committee members said.

The committee held a teleconference April 23 with representatives from Phoenix Design Works, the New York City firm hired to redesign SDSU’s mascot, said Jenny Crickard, the committee’s liaison to the firm. The committee gave feedback on the firm’s latest designs, as well as giving ideas using different logos and mascots, said committee member Kat Brandtjen.

The committee plans to narrow the search to three styles of jackrabbits – traditional, stylized and abstract – for the public to vote on. Brandtjen said that although the committee gave a few minor suggestions, it has pretty solid designs for the traditional and stylized rabbits. She said the focus is now on the abstract design.

The Collegian printed a version of the rabbit Jan. 31 that committee members said was close to the final product. Many students and alumni responded negatively to the realistic-looking design and several wrote letters to the editor. Brandtjen, who was uncomfortable about that design, is happier with what she has seen recently.

“I feel a lot better about the process and the direction the committee is going with it,” she said. “The logos we have seen are vast improvements over what was out two months ago. They are much better-working models than the previous rabbit.

“I am more pleased, but I am still holding out that we’ll see something that will pop. I hope we are going to something exciting out of the abstract rabbit.”

Students’ Association President Alex Brown, who was also not impressed with the first realistic design, is more comfortable with the latest designs.

“It gives students a real chance to look at different styles … [and] to form their own opinions,” he said.

Once the committee has one design they like from each category, they will put them on a Web site and allow the public to vote and leave comments on the designs, Crickard said.

“We hope to get new designs by the end of the week or first part of next,” she said. “If everything is right on target, we may be able to put them up on the Web site the next day.”

Brandtjen said the committee would like to finish the project before the end of the school year in order to get more student input, but she doesn’t think it is a feasible goal.

“I don’t really see this wrapping up by end the year,” she said. “It may go into the fall.”

The committee will work into the summer, Crickard said.

The mascot committee formed last fall and has met three times since February. Each meeting the committee will go through the recent designs, give feedback to the firm and narrowr in on certain features.

Crickard said the committee is still fairly confident in the design committee even though it has been hard for them to grasp what a jackrabbit is. She said it’s a rocky transition from what one person thinks to what one hears.

Brandtjen said the firm has the track record to produce good results.

“They’ve got the breadth of experience to do good work. I hope we get the same sort of result,” she said.

Brown said the teleconference was productive because the committee could directly communicate with the firm.

“I think it is going to help gauge on their actions,” said Brown.

Crickard said the committee is more concerned with finding a design than an official font. She said once the committee has found a design that can be used in parts, it will focus on a font.

As I rushed to class Monday morning, I found myself pausing to absorb the campus atmosphere.

There was something about students walking to class that made me smile. I looked up at the sky and was reminded of how wonderful it is to be a part of a university community. I blamed my approaching graduation for the overly emotional feelings and continued on to class. Little did I realize what was happening at that moment on a college campus, not unlike SDSU, half a country away.

When I first read about the Virginia Tech tragedy, my stomach formed a nasty pit of knots and my tears started to swell. As I learned more, it tore a deeper hole in my heart. Finally, I broke down as one student described his classroom being ambushed with bullets. I cried because he and I both started the day as college students just going to class.

As a college student, it’s hard to not put the events of April 16 in the perspective of your own environment. What happened in Blacksburg, Va., makes college students across the country think about their own campus and their own university community. Is SDSU safe? Could this happen at SDSU? If it did, would the authorities make the proper decisions?

One of the most disappointing things about a tragedy like this is that the controversies surrounding the shootings will take precedence over the fact that 33 people lost their lives. For the next several weeks, there will be countless reports and in-depth pieces about gun control, pressures faced by college students, university crisis policies, campus safety, the future of VT, etc. But we can’t let that overshadow the fact that university students and faculty members wrongfully died on their own campus.

As members of a university community, we are a family. Students bond over hatred for classes, participation in campus organizations or the sheer fact that they cheer for the same school mascot. And, as a family, we endure tragedy and triumph together – whether it is the mourning of a student death or the celebration of an athletic championship.

Now, a fellow university community is in need. It has been ripped at the seams and is facing a long road to recovery. Like one family would help another family, SDSU needs to help VT. It’s easy to point fingers at an administration 1,300 miles away, but the SDSU community is better than that. We need to stand up and support the students and faculty of VT, and remind them we are by their side.

No matter what campus you were on April 16, 2007, on that day, you were a Hokie. Please remember that as that day’s events unfold and Virginia Tech tries to rebuild. Whether it be through donations or prayers, SDSU needs to show Virginia Tech it cares. Because we all began April 16 as students going to class.

The Virginia Tech shootings may have happened more than 1,300 miles away, but the events’ effects were still felt at SDSU.

“I don’t know what the reaction was right away, but you could tell The Union seemed a little different in the afternoon,” said Students’ Association President Alex Brown.

In the days after the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history, SDSU joined the nation in mourning the death of 33 people killed on the VT campus in Blacksburg, Va.

“I think it’s really sad and should be a wake-up call to someone,” said Katie Cozine, a psychology junior.

On April 16, 23-year-old Cho Seung-Hui, a senior English major at VT, is believed to have opened fire in two separate attacks, more than two hours apart – first at a dormitory, where two people were killed, then inside a classroom building, where 31 people, including Cho, died. Cho is reported to have taken his own life as authorities closed in. Two handguns – a 9 mm and a .22-caliber – were found in the classroom building.

Students were notified by e-mail of the first shooting as the second was occurring. Classes were cancelled shortly thereafter.

VT school officials and authorities have been criticized for not putting the campus on lockdown after the first incident.

“It seems irresponsible. They should have let people know,” said Camden Helder, a SDSU political science and business economics sophomore.

But Vice President Mike Reger said VT’s administration made the best decision they could with the information they had at the time.

“I think we would do something very similar,” Reger said. “They had a very difficult decision to make. You never know how those situations are going to turn out.”

Reger said SDSU currently has an intact crisis plan, which was updated a few years ago. Although the plan is thorough, it is designed to handle more weather-related emergencies, like tornadoes and blizzards.

“The policy addresses those things that are more likely to occur than a shooting like Virginia Tech has,” he said. “The disaster planning model doesn’t necessarily anticipate mass shooting. We are going to have to look at that.”

SDSU would also probably use a similar avenue to notify students in such an emergency. Reger said Jacks e-mail accounts and local media would be the primary venues to alert students, in addition to a phone tree developed for university staff. He said e-mail was an effective way to alert students of cancelled classes during March’s snowstorm.

Brown admits the Jacks e-mail may not be the most effective notification because not all students use those accounts. He hopes the VT incident will improve SDSU’s notification system as well promote the use of school e-mail accounts.

“Maybe it will awaken students that school e-mail is not junk – it is a way to communicate,” he said. “I hope it encourages (students) to stay a little more informed in a situation like this.”

The VT incident will also force SDSU, and society, to look at social problems, such as the pressure to succeed, said Meredith Redlin, a SDSU sociology professor. She said students today are more focused on finding a job than actually obtaining an education and enjoying the college experience.

“It’s stunning, kind of, to realize the pressure within a system when these pressures seem to be more extreme than at previous times,” she said. “There has been a transformation in our society so that we are more outcome-focused, that’s where pressure comes in. It doesn’t allow you to learn. It doesn’t allow you to make a mistake.”

Although Brown doesn’t know of any current efforts, he suspects student organizations and groups will want to show their support for the VT community.

One student posted a note on Facebook about a virgil April 18 at 9 p.m. behind Hansen Hall, but nothing official has been planned.

#1.883517:357783026.jpg:virginiatechposter.jn.jpg:A sign hangs inside of The Union reminding students of the recent school shooting that took 33 lives at Virginia Tech.:

SDSU leaders often, sometimes too often, use the phrase, “It’s a good day to be a Jackrabbit” to dignify a special event or announcement. Although we would like to think every day is a good day to be a Jackrabbit, some are just better than others. March 17 was one of those days.

Anyone wearing blue and yellow couldn’t hold back the SDSU pride as the women’s basketball team beat Illinois, 61-48, in the second-round Women’s National Invitation Tournament game and advanced to the third leg of the competition.

Before it even started, the game was designated historical. It was the first time an SDSU team competed in Division-I postseason team play and the first time a transition team made the tournament. The Collegian chose to extend coverage beyond the normal game story and assigned me to report on the craziness that is WNIT.

Here are my notes from a game that won’t be soon forgotten:

The excitement of the game drew crowds to the door hours before the 7 p.m. tip-off. The majority of the line began to form between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m., but fans came prepared for the wait. There were even scooters and a bean-bag toss.

One group of college males stood outside the west entrance in the 36-degree weather wearing gym shorts and a layer of blue and yellow paint. They wouldn’t tell me how long they had been outside, but by the way they were shivering and hugging their bare chests, I could tell it had been awhile.

“It’s the biggest game in SDSU history,” said Jackson Rentschler, a business economics sophomore. “WNIT will know who the Jacks are by the end of the tournament.”

As I was made my way to the designated media entrance, I noticed guard Ashlea Muckenhirn walking to the HPER from her Young Hall room. When she got closer to the door, students erupted into whoops and hollers like she was a rock star.

Inside, the ticket takers assumed position and the University Police Department officers took their posts. The UPD usually staffs four officers for home games, but three extra UPD and three Brookings Police Department officers were recruited to help with the post-season game.

When the clock struck 5:30 p.m., Associate Athletic Director and former women’s coach Nancy Neiber gave the official signal and the crowd was unleashed. Hordes of students rushed through the door like a group of moms in a toy store the day after Thanksgiving. Once through the turnstile, fans sprinted to the student section. Ten minutes later, that section was full.

As I watched seats fill, I noticed a familiar smile. She said she would be here if the team made it to the WNIT, and Peggy Miller doesn’t like to break promises.

Miller, former SDSU president, has been living in Florida since her retirement in December 2006, but made flight arrangements as soon as she heard SDSU received a WNIT berth. She won’t leave until the Jacks are defeated.

She said all this while showing me her Jacks gear: The #1 jersey she was given as a parting gift during the Dec. 9 women’s game against Southern Illinois and the 2003 Women’s NCAA Division-II Championship ring the Jacks earned.

Later in the evening, I would see a similar ring on Jacks Head Coach Aaron Johnston, sparkling against the arena lights.

On my way back to the media table, I saw another famous face: Sen. John Thune.

“This is a very exciting day for South Dakota,” said Thune, who was in South Dakota for a few days. “There is a real sense of pride when a team does as well as the Jacks have done this season.”

Eventually Frost was full of people spilling into the aisles. Recorded attendance, based on ticket sales, was 5,719. The arena hasn’t been that full since Feb. 28, 2004-the last time the University of South Dakota played there. That was also a women’s-men’s double-header.

At about 6 p.m., 1,500 blue and yellow balloons were given to fans and became a way to distract opponents.

“They’re all right, but they’re no cowbell,” Rentschler said.

In the southwest corner of the arena was a small section reserved for fans in red. Chris Leese, an Illinois fan, said the university chartered a bus to Brookings, but only 29 made the nine-hour bus ride. Associate Athletic Director Rob Peterson estimated the team had 100 total supporters in the stands.

Once the game started, the energy grew with every basket, every call. Sometimes the environment was so surreal, I forgot I was in Brookings.

The game’s intensity peaked at the three-minute mark when Muckenhirn’s easy bucket put the Jacks up by nine. The entire arena flooded with clapping, stomping and screaming for the remainder of the game. For the first time, a solid lead had been established and the winner was evident.

Those three minutes were perfect. You could barely hear the buzzer that finalized the game.

Before the post-game press conference, I spoke to SDSU President David Chicoine. His grin reminded me of a child’s on Christmas day.

Jackrabbit fans shared his giddiness when officials announced that SDSU would host round three. SDSU fans will have a chance March 23 to out-do themselves.

For some reason, I don’t think it will be a problem.

#1.883613:2062951283.jpg:fans2HPER.jn.jpg:Diehard Jackrabbits fans stand outside the HPER March 17 waiting for the SDSU/Illinois game.:
#1.883612:2942120548.jpg:Mangan, Heather(chicken).jpg:Heather Mangan:

Maddy Reed’s friends were incredibly jealous when she told them the SDSU Women’s Basketball team stopped by her girls’ basketball team’s practice a few weeks ago.

“They look like WNBA stars to me because you can look up to them and are like ‘Someday, I wanna be like you,’” said the 10-year-old, who has been attending SDSU women’s games since she was a baby.

The Jackrabbit women may not play for the WNBA, but they have become their own type of stars. Since the team’s Women’s National Invitation berth March 13, they have been splashed throughout local media and people can’t stop talking about these 13 women.

“I suppose you could say they are campus celebrities,” said Nick Hartley, a construction/ building technologies junior. “Everyone knows them as making history for SDSU. Everywhere they will go people will know these girls.”

Complete strangers will approach the women with a “congratulations” or “good luck.” Local children, like Reed, will wait outside their locker room in hopes of an autograph. And sometimes, the women will receive date offers from the crowd.

“It is kind of an awakening experience when little kids come up to you after the game and are like ‘Can you sign my shirt?’ I am like ‘I don’t know if you want me to wreck your shirt by signing, but I’ll sign it,’” junior center Courtney Grimsrud said.

There is good reason for all the attention. The team’s laundry list of accomplishments this season includes being the first transition team to receive a WNIT berth and the first SDSU team to compete in Division I post-season play.

“It was always in the back of my mind that we would play in a post-season tournament and just have that kind of big atmosphere, but never did I think that it would be that popular, that we would have that kind of impact on the community and the state even,” Grimsrud said.

Since the Jacks entered the WNIT, media requests from the players’ hometowns have increased, said Sports Information Director Jason Hove. He said more media coverage was expected based on experience in 2003, when the team won the NCAA Division II Championship. However, requests have been more consistent for this tournament.

“People are looking for more angles and I think that has to do with different teams we are playing,” he said.

#1.883644:2625443534.JPG:IMG_0350.JPG:The Jackrabbit women’s team huddles before the game against Illinois State March 17. The Jackrabbits won the game, 61-48.:
#1.883643:3108289509.JPG:IMG_0016.JPG:Jacks junior guard Andrea Verdegan is interviewed during a media conference March 14, a day after SDSU received the nod for WNIT.:
#1.883642:110376486.jpg:Grimsrud, Courtney.jpg:Courtney Grimsrud, junior center:
#1.883641:2923404739.jpg:maddyreed2.jn.jpg:Maddy Reed, 10, is a passionate Jackrabbit fan and rarely misses a game. Her most prized possessions include a t-shirt signed by Jacks players and a “blessed” basketball signed by her role model

Only Megan Vogel has played before such an intense crowd in Frost Arena, but this time it was a different team in red.

“Anytime I get to play in Frost Arena as a senior, that is a special thing,” said senior guard/forward Megan Vogel. “That is the best part. I can’t tell you what it means to run out in Frost Arena. It’s unreal.”

March 17′s crowd proved how important the Women’s National Invitational Tournament is to SDSU. Although not capacity, over 5,719 people watched the Jacks topple Illinois State 61-48.

Fans stood outside the arena seven hours before tip off, painted themselves in blue and yellow and screamed at every call and basket. Some fans called the atmosphere “USD-like”, meaning Frost hasn’t been that lit since the last Jackrabbit/Coyote match up Feb. 28, 2004.

“It’s loud. I can’t even hear myself yelling at the players,” said Head Coach Aaron Johnston.

The two-hour game included antics saved for big games like this. Here are some of the highlights:

-A rough 200 people lined up outside Frost Arena waiting to grab their seat. The doors opened at exactly 5:30, with fans running through the ticket gates.

-The student section filled in the first 10 minutes. General admission was a slower to reach population, reserved seating even slower. But few minutes into the game, fans had spilled over into the aisle and the track.

-In terms of SDSU celebratory, it was a sparkling night. Dignitaries attending the game: U.S. Congressman John Thune; South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long; South Dakota Regents Dean Krogman, Carole Pagones and Tony Venhuizen; SDSU President David Chicoine; and former president Peggy Gordon Miller.

-Although no cowbells, fans took advantage of the balloons as they rigorously waved them with every basket and used them for distraction when the opponent was at the line.

-All the bells and whistles were present as the SDSU Pep Band, State Sensations and Black Alliance performed.

-The crowd pulled out their staple chants, including the “Megan Vogel.” A couple of local media also received some of the rock-star fame.

-Ten authorities, seven University Police Department and three Brookings Police Department, were on guard with 16 Air Force ROTC students ushering.

SDSU fans will get to try to out do themselves in a few days. Jon Wackle, WNIT site coordinator, announced SDSU will host round three against Indiana or Iona. The date will be announced Sunday, March 18 afternoon with tickets on sale at 1 p.m. the next day. Indiana and Iona will face off March 19.

Check the March 21 issue of The Collegian for more from Saturday’s crowd and WNIT coverage.

#1.883692:3918080598.JPG:IMG_0046.JPG:5,719 SDSU fans came through the ticket gates on Saturday night to see the Jackrabbit women take on Illinois State University in the second round of the WNIT.:

The line, nearly 50 people deep, outside the ticket office at 12:59 p.m. March 13 could be a good indicator of what SDSU’s bid into the Women’s National Invitation Tournament means to Jackrabbit fans.

Tickets for SDSU’s first WNIT game went on sale at 1 p.m., 15 hours after Head Coach Aaron Johntson received the confirmation call. It only took an hour for all assigned seats to be sold, leaving only general admission open.Ticket Office staff couldn’t say how many tickets were sold or comment on sales when the office closed at 5 p.m.

Don Dezeeuw, Arlington, didn’t want to miss his opportunity, so he got in line, at the front, an hour before tickets were on sale

“We just think they are a really good team and we enjoy following them,” said the veteran fan, who has been following SDSU since the 1980s.

Dezeeuw said he’ll follow the Jacks as far as they go.

“We’ll cross that bridge when get to it. It’s one game at a time in this level,” he said.

The WNIT requires that tickets for these games be higher than regular season games. The prices will continue to rise as the Jacks progress through the tournament, said Sports Information Director Jason Hove.

The higher prices mean that students will have to pay for the postseason games. Student general admission tickets, $5 with student ID, can be purchased at the HPER Ticket Office, Info Exchange, gojacks.com or at the door. Student seating will remain the same.

The WNIT also requires between 5 and 10 percent of seats be reserved for visiting opponents, said Associate Athletic Director Rob Peterson.

SDSU projected to the WNIT that attendance will be about 3,500, but Hove expects to have an NDSU-like crowd, which was 4,132.

#1.883690:3664367496.jpg:ticketbooth1.jn.jpg:Jackrabbits fans line up outside the Ticket Office in the HPER on March 13 to purchase tickets to SDSU’s first WNIT game at Frost Arena.:

It’s SDSU first postseason play in Division I, and the Jackrabbit’s loudest noisemaker won’t be a part of it.

Cowbells will not allowed in any Women’s National Invitation Tournament games at Frost Arena, said Jason Hove, Sports Information Director. The NCAA prohibits artificial noisemakers during play, and the “NCAA 2006 Division I Women’s Championships Handbook” states that artificial noisemakers cannot be on the premises without NCAA approval. Hove said that with plans to stick close to NCAA rules throughout the tournament, cowbells won’t be allowed at all. Instead, fans will be handed balloons as they walk into the game.

Chad Meirose, SDSU alum, said cowbells are tradition and should be a part of the momentous games.

“If you take away the cowbells, you take (away) what we are known for,” Meirose said.

Some fans will miss the powerful noise amongst the screaming fans, but don’t think it will affect the fan atmosphere.

“It’s on our court and we should be able to have the home court advantage,” said Chris Hoff, a business management junior. “I think it will make the students more rowdy and make up for not having the cowbell.”

SDSU alum Keith Jensen said the decision makes sense because not everyone knows the NCAA rule so it’s better to just to eliminate cowbells and not take any chances. But he doesn’t like the decision.

“I won’t like not being able to ring my cowbell,” he said.

Fans with cowbells will be given the chance to take them back to their residence hall rooms or to their vehicles.

The Jackrabbits had already cemented a 30-point lead against North Dakota State Feb. 23 when Megan Vogel left the game with two-and-a-half minutes remaining. It was the lone senior’s last game at Frost Arena, and as she walked to the sideline, the crowd erupted in a standing ovation and the student section chanted, “Thank you, Megan.”

It was the goodbye she deserved.

Vogel was a godsend for SDSU’s transition to Division I. She helped the women’s team prove that SDSU could be competitive in Division-I athletics. But she didn’t do it alone. Every senior athlete was an integral part in SDSU’s smooth transition.

When SDSU announced it was going to pursue life beyond the North Central Conference into a uncertain future in D-I, many didn’t think the Jackrabbits had any chance of succeeding and encouraged the state’s largest university to just stay put. But the administration didn’t listen and plowed through, determined to make SDSU a better school with a better athletic department.

Last fall, that hard work shined through when SDSU was invited to the Mid-Continent Conference.

Former President Peggy Miller, Athletic Director Fred Oien and the entire athletic department were crucial parts of making the smooth transition, but the unsung heroes were the athletes.

The athletes were the ones who had to show they could be competitive at D-I. That meant more competitive teams, longer bus rides and, sometimes, disappointing loss after disappointing loss.

In three short years, SDSU has had some great athletic accomplishments – the football team ending the 2006 season ranked 21st and beating six Bowl Championship Series teams, and the women’s basketball team ending their season 21-5 and getting dangerously close to a Women’s National Invitational Tournament bid.

But take a look at records for Jackrabbit softball, tennis, swimming and some of the other minority sports. Oh, and let’s not forget the ever-so-embarrassing 5-23 men’s basketball record. The transition isn’t so easy for them.

For those sports, it hurts to lose game after game to opponents who are faster, stronger and just better. The less-publicized sports don’t get their own Daktronics video scoreboard and they have to drive to faraway contests instead of flying. And frankly, success in programs other than basketball and football have been put on the back burner.

But the athletes keep with it. They continue to play in good times and bad. They wear the blue and yellow proudly, through victory and defeat. They could have transferred to the University of South Dakota or Augustana College and been pretty successful at D-II, but they didn’t.

Anyone who calls himself or herself a Jackrabbit fan needs to understand that SDSU at D-I wouldn’t have survived without these athletes.

The senior athletes have carried SDSU on their backs, trying to reach D-I prosperity, and they deserve recognition. Not just standouts like Megan Vogel, but every athlete on every team who has seen SDSU in Division I and Division II. The transition isn’t over yet, but without them, the first few years wouldn’t have gone so well.

So to all the athletes who kept believing, thank you. Thank you for cementing SDSU’s future in D-I athletics.