A Lasting Legacy and Lifelong Friends

Basketball teams across the country fear playing in the McCarthey Athletic Center for one very specific reason – a sea of navy, red and white chanting, stomping and beating their chests to the low, ominous Hum. When a player from rival Saint Mary’s or Brigham Young steps onto the court, they’ve faced a rotating roster of Zag legends like Kevin Pangos, Adam Morrison, Rui Hachimura and more. But no matter who’s on the court, opposing teams are also staring down the barrel of the Kennel – 1,200 students who eat, sleep and breathe Gonzaga basketball.

The unmatched energy and team spirit of the Kennel Club has gained national attention. Recognized by NCAA basketball analyst Andy Katz as one of the top 10 student sections heading into the 2024-25 season, it’s no surprise Gonzaga boasts one of the highest at-home winning percentages in the country.

With the caliber it’s reached today – would you believe it all started 40 years ago with 15 guys who just wanted to hang out together and cheer on the Zags?

 

In February, nine of the original members made their way back to campus from separate corners of the country to celebrate the Kennel Club’s 40th anniversary. It was a big weekend – Gonzaga Day, men’s and women’s basketball senior nights, the last Kennel Campout of the season, and of course, the anniversary itself – all jam-packed into one Saturday.

Go big or go home, right? The Kennel always embodies that energy anyway.

“It’s just amazing to see the growth,” says Sean Hogan (’84), one of the founding members. I had the honor of spending some time with the group around campus in the days leading up to Saturday’s big game against St. Mary’s. In that time, a few things became pretty clear – this is a group of guys who love hanging out with each other, and they really love being Zags.

A conversation with them felt like an invitation into their nostalgia, like pulling up a chair at Jack and Dan’s and sharing a beer with old friends.

“There was one time with the Loyola Marymount University coach,” says Mike Shields (’84), another founding member and a co-author of “We are G.U.: The Origins, History, and Impact of Gonzaga University’s Kennel Club.” “He was an older coach with pretty good success, but he had an obvious toupee. Midway through the game, we got out on the floor in front of the LMU bench and spelled out the word ‘toupee.’” Shields recounts this story in the back of a car belonging to a current Kennel Board member. He, Jeff Zenier (’88) and Bob Twiss (’84) are on their way to help distribute tent numbers to students who, at 12:15 p.m. sharp, will sprint across campus to a secret location revealed only on Twitter.

“The crowd loved it,” Shields and Zenier laugh. “But in the second half, he kept looking over at us, pointing at us and you could tell he was angry. After the game he made a beeline for us.” He pauses, “I literally thought we were going to get in a fight with the LMU coach.”

It’s memories like that that get told over and over throughout the years. When this group is together, sentences start with, “Remember that time when...” and end with rounds of laughter. For the original Kennel Club members, coming back to campus and watching current students form those memories themselves reminds them what it really means to be a Zag.

“Think about this,” Paul Kelly (’86) says to me while we stand on top of frozen ground in the middle of Kennel Campout. “We met 44 years ago, and we are still in daily contact with each other over text. The friendships are literally lifelong.” We’re surrounded by students who have voluntarily carved space out of the snow, set up tents and will camp overnight with five of their friends in borderline-freezing temperatures, just to pack the Kennel the following night.

“To me, this shows that community of friendship has grown exponentially,” says Hogan, gesturing at the tents around us. “The community of friendships we built back then, because that’s really what it was, just exploded. And it’s the friendships that have cemented us together for decades.”

The students at the Campout recognize they’re in the presence of Kennel royalty. As the group makes its way down rows of tents, wearing custom t-shirts that read “OG KC” on the back and waving at students bundled up inside their tents, people start to approach them for autographs. It’s a goofy little nod that lets the founding members know just how much this once-small club means to Gonzaga.

Let’s talk about just how much that club, once only 15 members, has grown. Today, Kennel Club is the largest student run club on campus with more than 1,500 members. I ask the founding members one of the biggest changes they see, compared to 40 years ago. Aside from the sheer size, Zenier says, “Hands down, the organization of it all. Top to bottom, it’s pretty incredible.”

While the club itself is 40 years old, the Kennel Board was founded in 2011 when it became clear some formal leadership was needed to keep up with growth. Now, a rotating board of about 16 students plan everything from the Campout to the senior trip to Las Vegas to watch the WCC Tournament.

Back then, they all agree, “it was a bit of a free-for-all." The group would meet at their home off campus in the Logan neighborhood, “which isn’t there anymore,” Hogan adds. They’d take turns painting each other's faces in blue and red and getting hyped up for the game. Even some of the Jesuit priests would get in on the pre-game fun.

But at its core, the club has remained the same. It’s just another way to celebrate the Zags and make lifelong memories with friends.

It was a weekend to celebrate, to reminisce and to stand back and see firsthand the legacy they left behind. But really, it was a chance to feel a bit like students again – braving the cold at the Kennel Campout, waiting in line before the game and, of course, a few stops at Jack and Dan’s with your best friends.