Madison Hall enters fifth season with Bobcat basketball

Madison Hall (nee Jackson) thought her basketball career ended last year at the Big Sky Conference tournament with a second-round defeat. Hall is part of a trio that won more games than any other Bobcat class with 84 wins in four seasons, including two shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. She could have stepped away from basketball knowing her legacy of relentless play and positive attitude wouldn’t be forgotten by anyone involved with the team.

The Idaho native knew from a young age she wanted to play basketball. “I would say probably fifth grade, my dad sat me down and he told me that financially we cannot afford college. Then I was like, what if I play basketball in college? I was young and wasn’t even thinking about college but I really liked basketball and my dad was telling me about college sports,” Hall said. “We didn’t have that kind of TV. He sat me down in our little church gym and was like, okay, well if you want to go to college for basketball I’m going to push you really hard. This is not going to be easy. It kind of just went from there.”

The first four years of her college playing career were littered with injuries, illnesses and struggles with her mental health. That combination led to her bouncing around from a starting position to bench roles numerous times during her initial time at MSU, all of which she took in stride. “It’s nice knowing that I have people here who understand me, that get it. I can voice it. I don’t have to be ashamed of it. Mental health is incredibly important for me to stand up and speak up if I’m feeling down. That was hard in high school and it got a lot easier here,” Hall said. She credited school resources, her coaches, teammates and her husband for helping her throughout her playing career.

For a time, Hall was happy with her decision to step off the court. “Last year our season ended not the way I wanted it to,” she said. “I was just so worn down and I was tired and it was just a mentally tough year. At that moment I thought I was fine, let’s hang up the jersey.” She went on to marry her longtime boyfriend Brayden Hall over the summer, a former equipment manager for the men’s basketball team. As she began the next phase of her life, it was impossible to put her former team completely in the rearview mirror. Sticking with the team in a student assistant role while completing her bachelor's degree in art education kept her close to her former teammates and coaches. 

As the summer gave way to fall, people close to her began asking if she was sure she was ready for retirement. One of the assistant coaches, Devin Perez, first suggested the idea of returning for a fifth season. “I brushed it off. I thought it was funny,” Hall said.

In late September, the idea turned from a light-hearted joke to a real chance. Coach Tricia Binford pulled Hall into her office and told her she would love to have Hall use her fifth year of eligibility. “Bin told me to take the weekend to decide if I wanted to come back or not, and I was like okay, let me talk to the husband, let me call my parents. I came back in the next day,” Hall said. “I didn’t even take the weekend.”

Now in her fifth season with the team, Hall serves as a guiding presence for the younger players as she seeks to rewrite the ending to her career. She credits the group of seniors she had as a freshman for showing her what it meant to be a leader.  “I think my leadership, you don’t necessarily have to get on somebody if they do something wrong,” Hall said. “It’s more of building them up, positive affirmations and leading by example.” Part of the leading by example is Hall averaging career highs in points per game and minutes played while frequently being the tone setter for the team with her energetic play.

Big Sky postseason basketball begins March 9 in Boise, Idaho. No matter what happens there, Hall knows her time with basketball isn’t done. In April, she is attending a coaching clinic from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association to help pursue a career in coaching collegiate basketball. “I’m hoping to meet some people and just get informed on how to be a good assistant coach or how to address certain athletes because you have so many different personalities,” Hall said. “I feel like I could really coach the higher level because I am such a competitive person.”