Description
Kennel Club co-founder Mike Shields (GU ’84) and fellow Gonzaga alumnus Aaron Hill (’01) tell the story of Gonzaga Basketball’s student fan group from its infancy during the John Stockton era of the early 1980s to the club’s explosion onto the national scene. WE ARE G.U. is a fun jaunt down memory lane and a must-read for former Kennel Clubbers, GU alumni, or any member of Zag Nation.
Special features include:
• The definitive history of college bas- ketball’s rowdiest student fan group.
• Many rare photos of the Kennel Club, past and present.
• A gallery of every Kennel Club shirt dating back to the 1984 original.
• Stories and comments from dozens of players, coaches, and media figures.
“I remember the Kennel Club from its earliest days. It started out as a little light-hearted fun by a few guys, but quickly turned into a major home court advantage that has continued to grow over the years. Sitting in the stands as a fan, I enjoy Zag games so much more when the Kennel Club is in the house. Their energy, their support and their love for their schoolmates on the court is undeniable and contagious. It was great reading about the story behind the story, both of the Kennel Club and the Bulldog basketball team. The walk down memory lane from humbler times to what Gonzaga basketball has become was a
lot of fun. I learned quite a bit, too. I would recommend the book to all Bulldogs, as well as Zag fans everywhere.”
John Stockton (’84)
Olympic Gold Medalist;
Member, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
About the Author
Mike Shields (’84) earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (Economics) from Gonzaga University. He also worked toward a Master’s degree in Athletics Administration at GU. Before leaving graduate school to accept the position of Assistant General Manager and, eventually, General Manager for the Texas Rangers’ rookie league team in Butte, Montana, Shields served as an administrative assistant to Steve Hertz and the GU baseball program.
While his work with the basketball program prevented him from being in the Kennel Club at games, Aaron Hill was, nonetheless, a KC member each of his four years at Gonzaga. During his later years as an undergrad and throughout graduate school, he tended bar at Jack & Dan’s Tavern. Aaron also served as a volunteer assistant baseball coach before working in Athletic Marketing & Sponsorship. During his freshman year, while watching Friday Night Sports Extra for highlights of future Zag Colin Floyd, Aaron’s answer to a trivia question gave him a nickname that stuck—many in the GU community know Aaron as “Hobus” after former GU player Hugh Hobus, who played a part in the trivia answer. Aaron earned his doctorate in Business Administration from Oklahoma State University (OSU) in 2010. Following graduation, he served on the faculty of OSU-Tulsa and then at the University of Nevada-Reno. In 2012, Aaron returned to OSU as a faculty member at the Spears School of Business, where he taught and served as the Spears Chair his last three years at the school. Aaron now resides in Gainesville, Florida, where he teaches at the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida.
