SDSU fans pack Cubby’s to watch the Jackrabbits’ first round game

BROOKINGS, SD (Dakota News Now) – Win or lose, South Dakota State fans have a reputation for going all out for their beloved Jackrabbits. Many fans traveled to Virginia for the first round of the women’s basketball tournament. For those who couldn’t go, they packed Cubby’s Bar & Grill and other businesses in downtown Brookings.

“We’re big fans of the Jacks and nights like this, you know, a lot of those nights are worth it,” Cubby manager Jeremy Deutsch said. “You know, with the support we give them and we have real loyal fans and they come together.”

To some Jackrabbits fans, their loyalty to Cubby is almost as strong as their loyalty to the team.

“It’s here for everything,” said Holly Mead. “Every sporting event, every sporting event, yeah.”

“There will be many people here. It’s getting louder here,” said Douglas Mead.

“Anytime we can’t get out of town to see the Jacks play, we come to Cubby’s,” Keith Jensen said.

“It’s great to be in this place with all the Jackrabbit fans here,” Barry Mielke said. “The Jackrabbits have a great following. There are many fans in the Brookings area. It’s great to see everyone turning up and cheering the Jacks on.”

Business is especially good when the Jackrabbits play well. The women’s basketball team is one of many sports programs to find late-season success. They have made the Big Dance 11 of their 15 seasons in the Division I tournament. This week, they got a feel for the game from entrepreneurs at Brookings. Cabbie had been taking Friday night reservations all week despite the students being on spring break.

“Brookings definitely lives up to SDSU as a whole, but the athletic programs being as successful as they have been lately is just icing on the cake, and we’ve had a lot of success over the last few years, so we feel fortunate that this We had the job,” Deitch said.

For fans of the blue and yellow, the recent success of SDSU Athletics never gets old.

“It never gets old. It’s always a great day to be a Jackrabbit,” Mielke said.

“Not for this small town. No. Never,” Douglas said.

“I’m a 1956 graduate and I’ve had season tickets to all Jackrabbit sports for 51 years, so no, it never gets old,” Jensen said.

Copyright 2023 KSFY. All rights reserved.