There’s a certain level of volume that only occurs when belief fills a building.
It’s not just cheering. It’s not just noise. It’s the kind of roar that rattles the air, that makes opponents rush everything more than they want to. Idaho basketball has heard that sound a few times this season inside ICCU Arena.
The challenge now is making it the norm instead of the exception. On Jan. 22, the Idaho men’s basketball team beat Sacramento State 86-76, and they experienced what a true home-court advantage feels like. Greek Life Night brought 2,445 fans into the arena, and the student section became a wall of sound. Fraternity and sorority members packed the baseline, screaming through defensive possessions and distracting free-throw shooters.
Sacramento State felt it. You could see it in rushed shots and missed free throws. You could feel it in the way Idaho fed off every defensive stop, every run, every swing of momentum.
“We needed a little extra energy jump, and that was the fans,” head coach Alex Pribble said afterward. “The student section was incredible tonight. When things started to get tight in the second half, I heard defensive chants that got the guys going again. Hopefully, we can make ICCU Arena the hardest place in the conference to play.”
Constructed in 2021, the 4,200-seat Idaho Central Credit Union Arena is one of the most unique venues in college basketball. Its double-curved timber roof, designed to mirror the rolling hills of the Palouse, traps and throws sound back toward the floor. When the arena fills up, the noise echoes and focus gets tested.
But architecture can only do so much. Atmosphere requires people, and for too long, too many of those seats have gone empty. I often look around at the empty seats on game day and can’t help but feel disappointed after seeing what Vandal fans can do during football season.
For years, football Saturdays in the Kibbie Dome have drawn thousands, even during seasons when wins are harder to come by. The gap has been hard to ignore, especially as both basketball programs have steadily improved under Pribble and Moreira.
That’s what made the women’s game against Montana State on Feb. 5 feel different.
A crowd of 1,773 showed up for a showdown with first place in the Big Sky on the line. It was a chance for head coach Arthur Moreira to earn his first career win over the Bobcats and for Idaho to match last season’s 18-win total. The game was tight, physical and dramatic all the way into overtime, and the crowd played a big role.
Late in regulation, the momentum began to tilt toward Montana State. I was on the sideline working the broadcast that night, and when the Bobcats took a five-point lead with two minutes left in overtime, I leaned toward my friend, one of the camera operators, and said, “It’s over.”
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Instead of going quiet, the arena got louder. Defensive chants rolled down from the stands. Every Idaho stop felt like it shook the building. Then came the play that flipped everything.
Ana Beatriz Passos Alves da Silva drove into the lane, absorbed contact and finished a go-ahead and-one layup with just over a minute left. In that moment, the belief in the building felt as real as the game itself.
Standing there on the sideline, one thought crossed my mind: maybe this team really is the best in the conference.
Two days later, 1,588 fans packed ICCU Arena again for the Teddy Bear Toss game against Montana. Another win. Another loud student section.
“Our crowds have been amazing ever since the Montana State game,” veteran guard Hope Hassmann said. “I feel like our crowds are just growing. Us players do feel that energy on the floor. It’s such a blessing to end here at home and hopefully end on a high note.”
Something is shifting. Crowds are growing. Belief is growing. And as the season tightens and conference races come down to a handful of possessions, the edge provided by a loud home arena could be the difference between hosting in March or hitting the road.
ICCU Arena has the design to be one of the toughest places to play in the Big Sky. The teams are giving fans meaningful games, big moments and championship-level effort. Now it’s on Vandal Nation.
If Idaho wants banners, if it wants postseason runs, if it wants ICCU Arena to become a place opponents dread, it starts with showing up consistently.
The men’s team will host Idaho State in the final game of the Battle for King Spud at 2 p.m. on Saturday.