May 6, 2008

Pocatello, ID --- Idaho State Athletics hosted their 28th Annual Bengal Foundation Auction, dubbed "Bengal Roundup", on April 26th at the Red Lion Hotel, raising over $77,000 gross for athletic scholarships.

The festive night was the culmination of a busy weekend of events for Idaho State's athletic program, a weekend that started with the Annual Spring Game at Holt Arena, won 45-39 by the offense. The Auction consisted of both a silent auction and a live auction, and a dinner was served as well prior to the live auction.

The evening also had entertainment, as Jim Bacigalupi and Mark Villano presented their version of Cowboy terms, which they dubbed "Cowboy 101". Among some of the more popular items was a very special dinner that will be prepared by Idaho State University President Arthur Vailas, Dr. Laura Vailas, Dr. M.R. "Mick" Mickelsen and Ruth Johnson. Other dinners with the ISU coaches were very popular and several great vacation packages saw very competitive bidding.

Among the sports themes auction items, a NASCAR package for two to the CarQuest 600 was one of the more popular items of the night along with autographed pictures of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Mark Maguire. A pair of autographed footballs from former ISU greats, Jared Allen of Minnesota Vikings, and Jeff Charleston of the Indianapolis Colts, were also popular with the auction crowd. Allen's auction items were mostly from the 2008 Pro Bowl in Honolulu.

Phil & Bekki Meador were recognized as honorary chairs of this year's auction. The Meador's have been generous supporters of Idaho State University Athletics since 1977. The Meadors have been involved in many aspects of Idaho State University Athletics including the coach's car club, the Bengal Foundation, the Cage Club, Quarterback Club and the Fast Break Club. Both Phil and Bekki have served on the Bengal Foundation board of directors and auction committee.

The Bengal Roundup committee, which was chaired by Mari Tusch and Deb Thompson, handled the task of procuring most of the items that led to a successful evening. The committee and ISU Athletics would like to thank the volunteers, donors and attendees for making the 28th annual auction a great event!