From WCU Alumni Engagement, this Western Wednesday highlights our 1996 Catamount men's basketball Southern Conference champions. Join us this Wednesday, March 17, at 6 pm. The team will reminisce about that magical season and the 25th anniversary of punching their ticket to the 1996 NCAA Basketball Tournament.
 
Former longtime WCU Sports Information Director and Catamount Historian, Steve White '67, will moderate the event and offer Catamount alumni and fans the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the program. 
 

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The following is a first-hand account of the 1996 Western Carolina Catamount run to the Southern Conference Championship and the near-upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament by WCU Assistant Athletics Director for Media Relations, Daniel Hooker.
   
Prior to 1996, I had little to no knowledge of Western Carolina University. Sure, my family had vacationed in Cherokee, N.C., long before the first brick of the casino was laid. We'd ridden the rails of the Great Smoky Mountain railroad. But little did I know that the quaint mountain village of Cullowhee and WCU existed, nor did I know how a week-plus span in March of 1996 would change my life and alter my future plans.
 
In 1996, there were no cell phone cameras, selfies, or social media to document every second. Instead, it's just the vivid memories I carry with me and the story I so enjoy telling on how Cullowhee became my new hometown.
 
It all started with a "Western On Tour" student recruiting event held at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, N.C., the Thursday night the conference tournament opened. Basking in the light emitted from a backlit aerial photo of campus and hearing memorable stories from WCU staff members and alum, I, as a high school junior, sat somewhat begrudgingly and heard about what made Cullowhee, USA such a special place. I heard about how students and staff alike participated in intramurals; how hiking to the infirmary would let you know if you really were injured – (thanks, Phil Cauley). I listened to the history and traditions of campus and how the university was becoming a leader in the western-most counties of North Carolina.
 
That night as the program wound down, my parents approached the now-former WCU Athletics ticket manager, Greg Duff, who was on-site hocking tickets to the basketball tournament. We purchased three for Friday's quarterfinal match-up against Appalachian State and planned to head to the "big barn" – the Greensboro Coliseum – on Friday.
 
I knew nothing about WCU except what I had gleaned from the Thursday night event. I didn't even realize that the first-round games of the tournament had already been played the night before. I knew no one in the stands, none of the players, coaches, or staff, and I had no idea what the fight song was.
 
I had absolutely no knowledge of what this Catamount team endured to reach the 1996 tournament with a first-round bye. No idea of the 0-5 start – or 3-10 opening through mid-January that included a loss to a non-Division I opponent, Coker College. I didn't realize that this team won 11 of its last 13 games to claim a SoCon South Division crown.
 
And besides that, what is a Catamount, anyway…?
 
Tucked away in the upper reaches of the Western Carolina section, adjacent to the "Cat House Pep Band," I sat through pregame, studying the roster card in trying to match names and numbers. Players like Anquell McCollum, Scott Scholtz, Jarvis Graham, Joel Flemming, and Joe Stafford were as foreign to me as the school I was just introduced to. As the first half wore on against the arch-rival Mountaineers, my fandom started to bubble to the top. By the time the game ended, this newbie had lost his voice in cheering on my newly adopted team.
 
With a 74-68 victory, the Catamounts rolled into Semifinal Saturday, and all the way home, my parents and I relived each play of WCU's fifth-consecutive seasonal win.
 
Saturday rolled around, and much to my chagrin, very little was spoken about plans to return to the coliseum for the semifinal match-up against VMI. Instead, things went along like normal; a family breakfast and parental ordered choirs to get outside and help my dad with yard work and wood-cutting. That was until mid-day when, much to my delight, my dad told me to get inside and get ready – we had a game to attend.
 
I don't remember where we bought tickets for the Saturday semi. What I do remember was scouring my entire wardrobe looking for any stitch of purple – I owned very little. I remember before my dad and I left the house, my mother trying to temper my expectations. "Don't be disappointed if they don't win," she cautioned as any caring mother would having seen her teenager who had fully bought in.
 
I remember entering the arena and being handed pieces of purple and gold cloth and a "Go Cats" sign printed on copy paper. And I remember Anquell McCollum scoring 40+ points as the Catamounts punched their ticket into the championship game with the 97-93, high-scoring victory over VMI, and a date with the Davidson Wildcats.
 
Championship Sunday. A formidable, unbeatable Davidson squad who the local papers said – and I paraphrase here – was ready for its royal coronation as the king of the SoCon. This time, there was little drama in my household as to where we'd spend that Sunday afternoon and evening. It took very little convincing. Departure included the same warning from my mother – she'd read the same headlines, she knew the odds weren't favorable.
 
As I feel is the case with so many, the details of that SoCon final are a blur. What I do remember is a tight game, strong defensive effort – and a Catamount victory that set off a wild celebration in the expanded Catamount fan section in the Greensboro Coliseum. I watched as each team member climbed the ladder – such a metaphor for what they'd accomplished – and cut down the net. I remember Coach Hopkins in true, Coach Hopkins's emotional fashion proposed.
 
I became a Catamount in that four-day window in 1996.
 
The week following that tournament championship, I walked Eastern Randolph High School's halls a little taller. Western Carolina had become my school, and I could not wait to apply with WCU's rolling admissions and to be able to put my name at the top of our high school guidance counselor's display on college acceptances. I carried that "Go Cats" sign on my backpack, adorned with those same pieces of purple & gold fabric that were tattered from hours of waving during the magical run. I reveled in the questions I got about what those decorative items meant. It was good to be the king!
 
I remember how a TV personality in Greensboro – Kim Jenkins on WGHP Fox 8, a former Western Carolina cheerleader – beamed and raved about her alma mater during each news broadcast. I vividly remember watching the Selection Show and seeing the WCU logo appear as a No. 16 seed, matched-up against the No. 1 seeded Purdue Boilermakers.
 
Mesmerized by the glow of the family television in our downstairs living room, I laid in front of the set, glued to the CBS Sports coverage of March Madness. I hung on every pass, each shot, and rebound. I imagined myself among the throng of Catamount fans doing the exact same thing across Catamount Country.
 
I laid on that same floor stunned after not one but two shot attempts to pull off the most improbable of upsets fell off the side of the rim. From thousands of miles away in the rural countryside of northern Randolph County, I hurt. And I remember Western Carolina being a part of that "One Shining Moment" montage that hits right in the feels after every basketball season.
 
I've since shared this story with many – anyone, in fact, whenever the 1996 basketball season gets brought up. It is to me what for many in Catamount Nation, the football national title run in 1983 is to them. I've had the opportunity to meet so many integral people who made that run possible. I shared a Geology class with the point guard, Joel Fleming; I've interviewed the sharp-shooting Joe Stafford on several occasions; I've worked alongside both Anquell McCollum and Coach Phil Hopkins. I became friends with student-manager Kirk Macemore. And even had the honor of interviewing former WCU assistant coach Thad Matta who was the head coach when WCU visited Ohio State some years ago and was introduced to his wife - whom he married in Cullowhee.
 
My journey as a Catamount began in 1996 – and it was all because of the 1996 men's basketball team.
 
After missing out on the NCAA postseason last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's return to the Madness – though it'll have a different look and feel – is a much-needed reprieve for the country from some tumultuous 365-or-so days.
 
As the "ball is tipped," this year, we salute that 1996 Western Carolina men's basketball squad on this the 25th anniversary of their on-court accomplishments – and the lasting ramifications of their hard work.
 
 
Daniel Hooker is a 2001 graduate of Western Carolina University and a University employee since 2004. He has served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations since 2007 and is a part of the Catamount Sports Network.