Idaho State-VG-2024 DM Accessible - Flipbook - Page 16
ATHLETICS
Idaho State Athletics sponsors 13 NCAA Division I
men’s and women’s sports and has been
home to many athletic successes over the years.
In 1981, the Idaho State Football team made a
run through the playoffs and captured the NCAA
D1-AA National Championship, defeating Eastern
Kentucky 34-23. In 1976, the Bengals shocked the
college basketball world, defeating UCLA 76-75
in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA men’s
basketball tournament with one of the deepest
runs a Big Sky Conference School has ever had in
the March Madness tournament.
In 1970, Idaho State completed construction on
the ASISU Minidome, named after the Associated
Students of Idaho State University, who funded
the project. This was only the second domed
stadium in the United States and the first on a
college campus. In 1988, the dome was renamed
to Holt Arena to honor longtime Bengal Athletic
Director Dubby Holt. In 2021 the University
started on a multi-million dollar renovation
project of the facility which will add to the
comfort and atmosphere of the stadium and is
set to be completed in Fall of 2023.
Idaho State also has a history of pioneering
women’s sports. In the early 2000’s, ISU
sponsored some of the first women’s pole
vaulters in history, and Stacy Dragila, one of these
Bengals, would go on to receive the first-ever
women’s gold medal in pole vault at the 2000
Sydney Olympics. The Bengal women’s basketball
program is also one of the most successful
programs on campus. In the past 20 years, they
have captured five Big Sky titles and have made
multiple appearances at the NCAA Tournament
and the WNIT Tournament.
isubengals.com
Facebook: Idaho State Athletics
Twitter: @ISUBengals
Instagram: @ISUAthletics
#RoarTogether
16 Visitors Guide • 2024 • Idaho State University
