A contingent of Belmont University administration, students, staff, alumni and trustees boarded a plane to San Diego on Wednesday morning to cheer on their beloved Bruins in their first ever trip to the NCAA Basketball Championship Tournament. The trip may have been short-lived after Belmont's loss to No. 2 powerhouse UCLA, but no one is hanging his or her head for making the trip. Everyone was in agreement: win or lose, this experience was a stellar victory for Belmont's basketball program...

The same question could be heard throughout the room: "Are you ready?" The answer was always the same: an enthusiastic, "YES!"

The team lined up and made their way through the cheering crowd, stopping to shake hands and hug their fans. The Belmont pep band led the charge, undeterred by the business meeting taking place in the next room. No one could stifle the growing excitement of the historic moment for the Belmont Bruins.

The moment was made sweeter by the memories being shared throughout the room by those who remembered Belmont's NAIA days and early, tough years as a Division I program.

Former Chairman of Belmont's Board of Trustees Larry Thrailkill made a quick phone call to former Belmont president, Bill Troutt, who spearheaded the Bruins' transition from NAIA to NCAA a short nine years ago.

"Bill, I'm in San Diego, and I just had to stop to say thank you for what you did to get us to this moment," Thrailkill said.

The Bruins fan base made their way to the arena by bus, trolley and any other available mode of transportation. No. 1 Bruin fan Vince Gill hopped on a bus with a group from Belmont not long after landing in San Diego to cheer on his friend Rick Byrd and the Bruins one more time.

Once arriving at Cox Arena, a common question was asked of Belmont fans by other spectators in the arena: "Now, where's Belmont?"

They soon found out, as a sea of red-shirted, rally towel-wielding Bruins fans made their presence known as the team took the court. From the first minutes of warm-up, to the eight glorious minutes in the first half that Belmont lead to the final seconds of the game, the fans never shirked their duties: rarely sitting down, screaming mightily, even when it became evident this would not be Belmont's year for a Cinderella victory in the Big Dance.

As fans of UCLA and Belmont both filed out of the gym after the conclusion, UCLA fans were heard chanting Belmont's beloved chant: "B-E-L-M-O-N-T! Grrrr!" On the way back to the hotel, fans began asking each other, "Do we even remember UCLA's cheers?"

The answer was no.

The Bruins may not have won, but their moment in the national spotlight is one not to be forgotten soon by anyone in San Diego on March 16, 2006. Belmont had arrived.

This is not the end of the story. This is merely the beginning of the next great chapter at Belmont University.

Editor's note: Below this story is a series of diary entries from the last several days covering the Bruins' first trip to the NCAA tournament. It begins at the bottom with the story of Belmont defeating Lipscomb in the Atlantic-Sun Conference championship game, and as you scroll up from there you'll find a digital archive of words, images, and links to various news reports from local and national newspapers and even audio and video from both Belmont sources and the news media. We hope you enjoy it. If you would like to add your own words to this digital archive, you can post a note of greeting and thanks for the 2005-06 Belmont Bruins basketball team in the "comments" feature of this article, below.

Photos by Amanda Wheeler. Click to enlarge.

Defeated Belmont captures hearts; Students see no shame in losing to UCLA - The Tennessean
The crowd at Belmont's Beaman Student Life Center crammed into the main lounge to watch on a big screen. They were energized, reacting to every shot as if it could been the game winner. The Nashville team kept up for much of the first half against the No. 2-seeded UCLA Bruins. Even when it started to get ugly and the game appeared out of reach, the local crowd's energy kept up.

"You all keep your eyes on Belmont."

ESPN.com game photo gallery.

Nashville City Paper has an interesting photo from "Selection Sunday" last week, just before it was announced that Belmont would play UCLA.

Click images to enlarge.

From Paul Chenoweth here is video of a pre-game pep rally at the team hotel just before the Bruins headed to the arena, viewable in Windows Media Player or QuickTime.

Also from Paul Chenoweth, a great shot of the Cox Arena scoreboard when Belmont was leading UCLA early in the first half:

Amanda Wheeler of the University Marketing & Communications office and editor of Belmont's Circle magazine, traveling with the Belmont contingent in San Diego, reports, "Everyone from Belmont (team included) is fine, we're all just waiting at the hotel. I'll call as soon as we get another report. ... The team's just ready to play! But obviously they are going to delay everything until it's safe."

While you're waiting, here is a video clip from Belmont coach Rick Byrd's press conference yesterday, viewable via Windows Media Player or QuickTime.

Junior center Boomer Herndon (pictured): Viewable in Windows Media Player or QuickTime.

Sophomore guard Justin Hare and junior guard Josh Goodwin: Viewable in Windows Media Player or QuickTime.

Senior forward Dan Oliver: Viewable in Windows Media Player or QuickTime

Hoop hopes high at underdog Belmont - The Tennessean
Whether or not the Belmont Bruins basketball team wins today's game in San Diego, Belmont University students are revved up for a sort of campus holiday to celebrate just how far their team has come.

NCAA debut makes for a battle of the Bruins - The Daily Bruin
Belmont University’s basketball team rallies and adjusts to its new success after a tournament bid

These Country Bears Take On Big-City Bruins - Los Angeles Times
As UCLA is known for college basketball, Belmont is known for country music

UCLA's Edge May Be History - Los Angeles Times
The more-heralded Bruins take on the Belmont variety, but the underdogs say they won't be overwhelmed by first appearance.

Small school shows Dance's big picture - Herald-Review (Decatur, Illinois)
After all the griping by the TV talking heads, all the moaning by coaches and players jaded to the wonderment of this event, and all the carping from media mopes like me who bristle at 12-hour travel days, it remains a privilege to, in any way, be associated with this three-week celebration of college basketball. Too many of us have forgotten that. Too many take for granted a place in an elite event. And it takes a school like tiny Belmont - enrollment 4,319 in Nashville, Tenn. - to remind us it shouldn't be that way.

Howland warns No. 2 UCLA about opponents - Associated Press
UCLA Coach Ben Howland knows what it's like to nearly knock off a No. 2 seed in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. He was coaching lightly regarded Northern Arizona against Cincinnati in 1998, when the Lumberjacks led much of the way only to lose on a late 3-pointer. Now, Howland is on the other side, bringing No. 2 UCLA (27-6) into a first-round game against 15th-seeded Belmont (20-10) on Thursday.

Belmont hopes to have UCLA singing a sad song - Associated Press
:If I'd have known how great this was, I would've really dreamed about it and worried about it and I'd have been crushed if we hadn't gotten here,'' Belmont coach Rick Byrd said Wednesday, "but I wouldn't have known what I'd missed until this happened.''

Belmont coach playing it cool - Press-Enterprise (Riverside, CA)
The last game Belmont coach Rick Byrd saw UCLA play live, he said, was the loss at USC on Feb. 19. Hard to blame him for downgrading UCLA after that one. That last loss is the game UCLA players credit as the final turning point of the season. But now that Byrd has been watching UCLA closely, he's not giving the Pac-10 Bruins any bulletin-board material.

Favorites review history of upsetting early exits - USA Today
UCLA's Bruins, which will play Belmont's Bruins today in San Diego, got all caught up in their No. 2-vs.-No. 15 NCAA history this week, courtesy of their coach, Ben Howland. "He mentioned it a lot to us," UCLA guard Arron Afflalo said. "He gave us a lot of examples." (Story includes photo of Belmont sophomore guard Justin Hare.)

Belmont coach changes his tune - The Daily Breeze
The Belmont Bruins are bright young men who know about UCLA's basketball legacy, about Wooden and about Lew Alcindor/Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They even talked about Toby Bailey and Tyus Edney. Belmont is a former NAIA power just getting its toes in the water with the big boys. The game against UCLA this afternoon will be its first NCAA Tournament game. This is only the fifth year it has been eligible for the tournament. "We're a little in awe," Byrd said. This from a veteran in his 25th year as a head coach, his 20th at Belmont.

Belmont, known more for its music heritage, faces storied UCLA program - Ventura County Star
Their coach is golfing buddies with country star Vince Gill, bunks on Gill's bus during concert tours and has appeared in two of his music videos. Their players wake up for 6 a.m. preseason swims, bowl together on weekends and relish tee times as much as gym time. They are the Belmont University Bruins - the less-publicized Bruins men's basketball team of the Oakland Regional - and they arrived for their close up in sunny California with eager grins.