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

BROOKINGS, S.D. (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 Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament. For those who couldn’t go, they packed Cubby’s Bar & Grill and other businesses in downtown Brookings.

“We’re huge supporters of the Jacks and nights like this, you know, it’s many of these nights that make it all worth it,” said Cubby’s manager Jeremy Deutch. “You know, with the support we give them and we have real loyal fans and they show up in droves.”

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

”This is the place to be for everything,” said Hallie Mead. “Every sporting event, every sporting event, yep.”

“There’ll be more people in here. It’ll get loud in here,” said Douglas Mead.

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

“It’s great to be in this spot with all the Jackrabbit fans here,” expressed Barry Mielke. “The Jackrabbits have a great following. There are lots of great fans in the Brookings area. It’s great to see everyone show up and cheer on the Jacks.”

Business is especially good when the Jackrabbits play well. The women’s basketball team is one of many athletic programs to find success of late. They’ve made the Big Dance 11 out of their 15 seasons eligible for the Division I Tournament. This week, they hype for the game was felt by businesses in Brookings. Cubby’s had been taking reservations for Friday night all week, despite students being on spring break.

“Brookings definitely lives off of SDSU in general, but having the athletic programs being successful as they have lately is just icing on the cake and we’ve had a lot of success the last several years, so we feel very fortunate to have had that,” said Deutch.

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,” said Mielke.

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

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