POCATELLO — “Can I buy a vowel?”

Idaho State University alumnus Steve Rice spoke the words during a phone call with the university’s vice president of marketing and communications, Stuart Summers, and the return of an iconic Bengal landmark was secured.

University officials hosted a gathering Thursday afternoon on the campus quad celebrating the recent return of a Bengal-orange letter “I” to the slope of Red Hill.

University officials announced the “I” will be illuminated every night heading forward. A spotlight will shine on the massive letter from the roof of the student union building.

The Rice Family Foundation contributed $225,000 to cover the entire cost of the project. Steve Rice explained the donation was in honor of his late father, Lawrence H. Rice, who worked for 34 years at ISU, starting as an English professor and eventually becoming an academic vice president.

Red Hill had borne a symbol of the local institution for 98 years when the original “I” was removed in 2014 based on public safety concerns.

“About five years ago, we all got the news that the ‘I’ had to come down,” Rice said during a brief address at the ceremony. “We all understood why, but as the years went by, we feared that we may never see it again. Then a year ago, a new sheriff came to town.”

Rice said he and his family members sat around their dinner table last Thanksgiving and discussed the likely return of the “I” “with joy” after learning that the university’s new president, Kevin Satterlee, had made restoring the symbol a priority.

“No single entity has impacted the Rice family like Idaho State University,” Rice said.

Satterlee offered a history of the letter, explaining how the symbol actually played a role in shaping ISU’s fortunes. The symbol traces back to 1916, when a “T” was erected symbolizing an ISU predecessor, Idaho Technical Institute. In 1926, students lobbied the state’s elected officials to start offering four-year degrees from the institution. To drive home the point, the student body transformed the “T” into a “4.”

“That message was heard loud and clear,” Satterlee said. “The very next year, the ‘4’ had been converted into an ‘I’ on Red Hill as this institution began conferring baccalaureate degrees.”

When the “I” was first added, it symbolized University of Idaho-Southern Branch.

“This is an exciting day, and it’s homecoming week,” Satterlee said. “Our alumni from all over the country and from right here in Southeast Idaho have returned to campus to celebrate the memories and the impact the university has had on their lives.”

ISU Alumni Relations Director Ryan Sargent recalled recently meeting a couple who met on campus and chose to be married beneath the “I.” Sargent posted their story on the alumni Facebook site, which prompted roughly 250 comments about the meaning the symbol held in people’s lives. A few alumni who shared comments said they also had also been married under the original “I.”

The new “I” is 71 feet long and 24 feet wide. ISU civil and environmental engineering students and faculty designed it, with advice from A&E Engineering.