Gonzaga Students Embark To Salt Lake City For NCAA Tournament - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

SPOKANE, Wash – Our KHQ and SWX teams aren't the only ones who hit the road for Salt Lake City; some enthusiastic Gonzaga students are also making the trek. 

One group of six seniors left for their 11-hour trip just before noon Wednesday with all six in just one car. They said the long drive would be worth it, despite the crammed conditions, because they didn't make it to the game in Vegas, and they wouldn't miss the NCAA tournament too.

So what do you get when you mix six Gonzaga seniors with the love of basketball?  A road trip for the ages.

"We decided it was kind of fate that the Zags ended up in Salt Lake City, and it's only an 11 hour drive," senior Will Glenny told KHQ.

They say it's a trip four years in the making.

"The same group of guys we're going with now, we've been [going to games] since freshman year, camping out for the big games at home, trying to get as close as we can in the kennel," senior Kyle O'Connor added.

"We just said senior year, we gotta do it, we got to go to the tournament," fellow senior and roommate Stephen Lund explained.

And if going to the tournament meant missing two days of class, that's a risk these bulldog fans are willing to take.

"We worked it out with our professors and most of them understand that for the tournament, it's okay to miss," Lund said.  

So with their bags packed, the seating arrangement carefully figured out, and a Gonzaga Basketball highlights DVD for entertainment, these Bulldogs departed Spokane for the first of hopefully many games to come.

"Graduation is coming up, and it's not unreasonable to think a perfect graduation gift is a trip to the Final Four," Glenny said.