Current:Home > MarketsBack to back! UConn fans gather to celebrate another basketball championship -Horizon Finance School
Back to back! UConn fans gather to celebrate another basketball championship
View
Date:2025-04-14 12:02:24
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Thousands of fans lined the streets of downtown Hartford on Saturday to fete the UConn men’s basketball team following its second straight NCAA championship, its sixth in the past 25 years.
The players and coaches paraded on a double-decker bus with an open-air top and lifted the national title trophy from the state Capitol to the XL Center, the arena in which the team plays about half its home games. The procession included marching bands, cheerleaders, first responders, top state politicians and other groups as fans shouted and waved UConn signs.
The celebration followed Monday’s 75-60 win over Purdue, which capped one of the most dominant two-year runs in NCAA Tournament history, one in which the Huskies won all 12 games they played by double digits.
Coach Dan Hurley, who has spent the week denying that he was considering leaving the program for another school, told the crowd his focus is on a third consecutive championship, as he and the players gave short speeches outside the arena.
“The champs are here today in Hartford with the best fans in the world,” Hurley said. “Basketball capital of the world — Storrs, Connecticut. Back-to-back champs. Back-to-back champs. ... Some of the greatest players to ever wear the UConn uniform are up here, and next year we go for the three-peat! Let’s go!”
Donovan Clingan, the 7-foot-2 sophomore center who announced Friday that he was leaving UConn and entering the NBA draft, thanked the fans and said their support helped fuel the title run.
“I appreciate you guys,” the Bristol, Connecticut, native said. “You guys have been the best fans to me for the past two years. I’ll cherish those moments for the rest of my life. I’ll be a Husky for life. Love you guys.”
The team also will be losing Tristen Newton, the Final Four’s most outstanding player, and Cam Spencer, who both ran out of eligibility when the season ended. Along with Clingan, freshman Stephon Castle could be a lottery pick in the NBA draft this summer if he also decides to leave.
“Thank you for all the support that you guys have given me the past two years and supporting the team,” Newton told the crowd. “Without you guys, back to back wouldn’t have been possible.”
This was the 15th victory parade for UConn, which in addition to its six men’s basketball national championships has won 11 women’s basketball titles over the past 30 years.
There were joint parades in 2004 and 2014 when UConn won both the men’s and women’s titles in the same season — the only Division I school to accomplish that feat.
The UConn men and women are 17-1 in NCAA basketball title games.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, who this week hinted that Hurley would get a pay raise, joined the team on the double-decker bus and the podium.
“Hey America, this is what the basketball capital of America looks like. Right here. Let’s hear it for the Huskies. ... We are the champions, my friends.”
___
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
veryGood! (37)
Related
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- United Airlines passengers affected by flight havoc to receive travel vouchers
- Ice Storm Aftermath: More Climate Extremes Ahead for Galveston
- Human torso brazenly dropped off at medical waste facility, company says
- 'Most Whopper
- They Built a Life in the Shadow of Industrial Tank Farms. Now, They’re Fighting for Answers.
- No major flight disruptions from new 5G wireless signals around airports
- Election 2018: Clean Energy’s Future Could Rise or Fall with These Governor’s Races
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- Trump’s Power Plant Plan Can’t Save Coal from Market Forces
Ranking
- Trump's 'stop
- Appalachia Could Get a Giant Solar Farm, If Ohio Regulators Approve
- Migrant workers said to be leaving Florida over new immigration law
- Woman dies while hiking in triple-digit heat at Grand Canyon National Park
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Why Grayson Chrisley Says Parents Todd and Julie's Time in Prison Is Worse Than Them Dying
- An Unusual Coalition of Environmental and Industry Groups Is Calling on the EPA to Quickly Phase Out Super-Polluting Refrigerants
- Why Hailey Bieber Says Her Viral Glazed Donut Skin Will Never Go Out of Style
Recommendation
Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
Shannen Doherty Shares Her Cancer Has Spread to Her Brain
Czech Esports Star Karel “Twisten” Asenbrener Dead at 19
Human torso brazenly dropped off at medical waste facility, company says
Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
Second bus of migrants sent from Texas to Los Angeles
Despite soaring prices, flexible travelers can find budget-friendly ways to enjoy summer getaways
Woman dies while hiking in triple-digit heat at Grand Canyon National Park