It's been quite a year for BYU Cougar athletics. Basketball is the focus at this time of year, and after an 18-8 start to the season, the Cougars visited 19th-ranked Arizona Saturday night looking for a fourth-straight win.
BYU-Idaho students gathered together on Rexburg's campus to show their support for the team, even if they were cheering them on from four hours away.
Jake Tibbitts, director of the BYU watch parties, has been running the parties for the last two semesters. Tibbitts says they have giveaways, and sometimes, free snacks.
"We try to do like kind of a tailgate theme stuff so there’s usually a lot of activities. We do a halftime raffle giveaway," says Tibbitts. "We’ll give out some pretty sweet BYU merch. We have hoodies, we have blankets. At this watch party specifically, we have popcorn for the first time. That’s for free. It really is just show up and have a good time.”
Tibbitts reminds students that there are several reasons to support the cougars.
“At BYU-Idaho we don’t have a team we can necessarily root for, but we’re still sister schools with BYU," Tibbitts affirmed. "Typically, on Saturday nights, this is like our moment to shine in a sense. On the weekends, come to these watch parties. They’re just so much fun.”
BYU-Idaho student Aidan Gertson is also a cougar fan, and he mentioned what makes the watch parties so worth it.
"The atmosphere is great, you know," says Gertson. "The more people we get, the more the energy is, and it gets hype.”
Watch parties are held in the Manwaring Center on the second floor in the crossroads every Saturday that BYU plays.
BYU has now won back-to-back games over ranked teams for the first time since 1988 and is ranked 25th in the country.