K-State students find unique way to celebrate USC’s NCAA Tournament basketball win over Kansas

By Matt Tait     Aug 26, 2021

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USC forward Isaiah Mobley (3) drives on Kansas forward David McCormack (33) during the second half of a men's college basketball game in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Monday, March 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Five months after it happened, evidence surfaced of a unique style of celebration by students at Kansas State University, who clearly took great joy in USC’s convincing NCAA Tournament victory over Kansas that eliminated the 2020-21 Jayhawks from the postseason.

So much so, in fact, that student government leaders at KSU went as far as to extend an official written commendation to the Trojans for the win.

The document itself — yeah, there was a real document — addressed the details of the game, how it was one of the largest defeats in KU history and the Wildcats’ longstanding rivalry with KU.

It also noted that “a hearty Go Trojans” should be uttered by student senate members and anyone else in attendance at the recent meeting.

And there was even video evidence that the rallying cry was used at the meeting.

The document was then sent to USC’s president, athletic director, head basketball coach and student body president, and it wound up in the hands of USC big man Isaiah Mobley, who posed with the piece of paper during a recent USC practice.

The document notes that the resolution was approved unanimously on April 8, 2021. And it was signed on April 19. For whatever reason, the details just hit social media channels this week.

The document, the video and the photo of Mobley holding the piece of paper was posted by the Twitter account for USC Men’s Basketball on Aug. 24. So that must have been the first time the Trojans players actually saw the document themselves.

This kind of behavior in rivalries in college sports is nothing new, of course. However, I can’t say that I can recall hearing about anything as formal as this being done. I’m sure it has. But it’s certainly a first in this rivalry. Usually people just make T-Shirts of DVDs to celebrate these types of things.

I can remember Missouri fans buying and wearing Bucknell T-Shirts after KU’s first-round loss to the Bison several years ago. But taking student senate time, all these months later, to do something like this certainly trumps that.

On the outside looking in, the whole thing is easy to laugh off. But you can bet that most K-State fans think it’s absolutely awesome and most KU fans are rolling their eyes about it.

Ahhh, rivalries. There’s nothing quite like ’em.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.