Vandals Have Your Back
Gamma Phis pull out all the stops during women's basketball Senior Night
Eighty-five diehard University of Idaho women’s basketball fans staked out prime real estate in the Cowan Spectrum March 2 with one mission: to get – and keep – Ana Overgaard on the court.
Although many family members were in attendance, this cheering crowd was made of the senior guard’s other full-time commitment – her sorority.
Gamma Phi Betas have been in attendance at every home game since Overgaard started on the team her sophomore year. But for Senior Night, every member was there, decked out in custom-made T-shirts and ready to get loud.
When Overgaard was subbed out, the group chanted to have her return and went berserk when she made a final layup.
Ana Overgaard is shown during the Senior Night Idaho women's basketball game March 2.
"They just wouldn’t let up when I got in it,” she said.
Overgaard, part of a long line of Vandal alumni, came to U-Idaho to be part of sorority life. Her father and grandfather are both alumni, players on the football team and members of Phi Delta Theta. Her mother received her masters degree here, and one of her brothers is a member of Beta Theta Pi.
“I was born and raised a Vandal,” she said.
Despite her athletic roots, the desire to be part of the basketball team came after she started at Idaho in 2009. Overgaard said after four years, she wouldn’t recommend it to everyone.
“I had to give up all the fun stuff,” she said. “You’re so exhausted after three hours of practice. It can be intense. I learned to turn basketball off. And when I come (to practice), I turn the sorority off.”
Matthew Kurz, Greek adviser for the Dean of Students said a sizable group of athletes on campus also have gone Greek.
“The time commitment is there,” he said. “… I think part of the value they provide is that close bonding and teamwork. That’s why it’s a natural transition.”
Overgaard said the Gamma Phi’s may not have the same commitments to a team as she does, but the group has never missed a home game and has been there through all the most important moments.
“ … through all those moments - I come home, and it’s the biggest celebration,” she said.
Having successfully made it to her final year at U-Idaho, Overgaard said she feels prepared for anything the future doles out.
She was recently awarded a grant through the U-Idaho Student Grant Program. In fall 2013, she will begin using the grant money to document the life of Nelson Dellis, the 2012 National Memory Champion vying for the 2013 title.