REXBURG—This season, BYU Cougars football is reaching heights it has not seen for several years and is on course to do something it hasn’t done since 1984. If you ask a group of BYU-Idaho students, they might tell you it is thanks, in part, to them.
Each Saturday, the Manwaring Center on the campus of BYU-Idaho transforms into Lavell Edwards Stadium North. On gameday, BYU-Idaho students and Rexburg locals come together to cheer on the Cougars from afar. The experience is as close as it gets to being at the stadium itself. During what they call the “IROC Watch Party,” the game is shown on the big screen, the audio is blasted on the speakers, and the fans take care of the rest.
From first downs, to big plays, to touchdowns, Cougars fans cheer their hearts out and hang on every play.
Along with making their passion heard, fans also come dressed from head to toe in Cougars gear, waving flags and shaking pom-poms. BYU even sends Cougar Tails to Rexburg for the watch parties. So, the only places you can get the foot-long maple bars are at Lavell Edwards Stadium and on Saturdays at the Manwaring Center.
BYU-Idaho student and avid Cougar fan, Bridger Cleverly, has been coming to the watch parties since the season started and says he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else on gameday.
“What are you doing if you haven’t come?” Cleverly asked. “It’s a party. You get face painting. There’s just a cool energy. You get to meet a lot of cool people, and it’s just a good way to watch a game. It beats sitting on your couch watching it.”
During commercial breaks, music is played over the loudspeakers. For the halftime intermission, three people go head-to-head to see who can finish off a Cougar Tail the fastest. Organizers also raffle off Cougars gear.
With the win on Saturday, the Cougars are now 8-0 and ranked ninth in the country. This week is a bye week for BYU, but they will get back at it on Nov. 9 and reignite the Holy War rivalry with the University of Utah.
Game time is set for Nov. 9 at 8:15 p.m. from Rice Eckels Stadium in Salt Lake City. To find more about the watch parties, visit the I-Belong page of the school website.