“It’s just a once in a lifetime experience, but we did it twice. Back-to-back!” Jenessa Perez, a junior, said.
Even before the final buzzer, thousands of students swarmed the plaza in front of Gampel Pavilion, cheering, chanting, and showing their Husky Pride to the max.
“Let’s go UConn!” Tristan Cane, a junior, screamed.
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Some freshmen experienced the basketball craze for the first time while seniors say this is such a special way to cap off their college experience.
“Best day ever! Go Huskies!” Natalie Basile, a freshman, said.
The historic win is making spirits high.
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“This team is all what UConn’s about. Working hard! And doing what we’ve got do to get where we are,” Madison Jolley, a junior, said.
The moment was also marked by a large police presence with several dozen UConn police officers intervening in the crowds, and State Police setting up a perimeter.
“Definitely last year it was chaotic I would say, but this year it’s very more mellow,” Perez said. “The security, the cops, they’re here. They’re aware, and making sure everyone’s safe. So I like that.”
Despite the law enforcement presence, UConn’s campus sustained some damage.
A few light posts were torn own. Some outdoor seating was destroyed. A flower pot was tipped over, and litter was left on the ground.
After the game, some people were also tearing street signs out of the ground, throwing them through the air.
DroneRanger caught the moment it turned into vandalism.
One of those signs ripped up from the street came straight through a Rec Center window. It sent chards of glass all across the gym floor with a cleaning crew working near by.
“We have to run very quick because they really broke that thing very, very fast,” Nathalei Valentine, a UConn employee and member of the cleaning crew said. “Definitely, I feel a little bit scared.”
The crew made it out of the way safely, but they say there is quite a repair ahead in that space.
The damage is disappointing to some of the celebrating students.
“I’m going to try to hit a workout tomorrow, but I don’t know how that’s going to happen,” Eagan Ford, a junior, said. “You definitely want people to have a good time, but maybe too much of a good time is a little bit dangerous.”
As of Tuesday morning, UConn Police made six arrests, according to university officials. That is compared to a total of 30 arrests following the championship win last year.
UConn officials issued a statement. It reads:
“Thousands of UConn students and others on the Storrs campus celebrated an amazing Husky victory this evening and the vast majority did so respectfully, responsibly, and safely. There were some incidents of vandalism following the victory, but they were limited in number.”
The statement goes on to say:
“On the whole, it was a very good night on the Storrs campus and the university looks forward to continuing to celebrate our phenomenal student-athletes, their coaches, and this incredible win.”
