Who started this? The "renewal" of the SDSU-USD rivalry

By: Marcus Traxler
Collegian Sports Editor

In days leading up to the first meeting between SDSU and USD on the basketball court, I kept a close eye on what the local media was doing to cover the Jan. 12 meeting in Brookings.

I had thought of our coverage in the days prior and decided we wanted to do a cool front that honored the history spanning over 100 years. In coming up with the headline, I came up with “Rivalry Renewed.” In the immediate moments following, though, I knew the idea came too easily. We had to come up with something a little better than that.

Ultimately, we used “Bragging Rights.” I was happy about it and I was even happier in the days following mainly because a few of the local television stations were tripping over themselves in their coverage. (You can see those examples at the right. Full Disclosure: The KELO screenshot aired Jan. 10, the other two on Jan. 12, same 10 p.m. timeslot.)

The first game was undoubtedly unique but if USD wasn't going to be competitive, this series wouldn't be fun for a while. Our coverage was very small for the meeting Thursday, aside from a few mentions in the paper this week. Coverage from the other outlets was toned down as well and SDSU had asserted themselves as the odds-on favorite to win at the DakotaDome.

Thursday, USD pulled off the largely unthinkable, upsetting SDSU 72-68 and sending the Coyote faithful into a frenzy. Without a doubt, the 'Yotes outplayed the Jackrabbits and SDSU, in the words of coach Scott Nagy, did not deserve to win the game.

Almost right away, I had my lead for my game story already in hand. It was the phrase that I had avoided four weeks ago at all costs.

"Rivalry renewed."

That was perfect now. The rivalry wasn't going to be all the way back until the Jackrabbits and Coyotes would be playing tight games. In the second meeting, we got one and it was terrific drama in the end. If the people in Brookings didn't believe USD could beat the Jacks before, despite the 30-point pounding, they know it now. Someone needed to feel the agony of defeat to get the furor going again.

The players and coaches would decide when the rivalry would start and it is now fully underway. (I was wishing the new USD football coach Joe Glenn would come onto the court during a timeout and guarantee a win in Brookings in the first meeting next November but it didn't happen.)

Both groups of fans have shown it can be fun to have the two teams playing again. Thursday, the teams showed it too.