UConn is seeing a boost in interest after back-to-back basketball championship wins. University officials say they saw a record number of applications this year.
UConn is seeing a boost in interest after back-to-back basketball championship wins. University officials say they saw a record number of applications this year.
This latest win is expected to draw in even more potential students.
As Husky Nation celebrates yet another men’s basketball title…
“It’s really great to see their hard work paying off even with the women’s unfortunately not making it all the way this year,” Chelan Smith, a UConn senior, said.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
It’s confirming the decision of many students who made the choice to attend UConn.
“When I was choosing a college, I was like ‘I love sports. I love the energy it brings’ and because my brother went to UMass and their hockey team used to always win, and I’m so happy that my team gets to win now,” Jenna Defronzo, a UConn senior, said.
“Basketball is definitely a big reason why I came to this school, so seeing us win back-to-back was incredible,” Justin Piciacchio, a UConn junior, said.
Local
It’s also incredible for the UConn admissions team. Nearly 57,000 students applied to UConn to be a part of the incoming freshman class. It’s an 18% increase from the previous year of 48,000 applications.
“Really, at the end of the day, it's something that brings name recognition to us, making us a household name, and certainly has had a positive impact on the interest in coming to the university,” Nathan Fuerst, UConn’s vice president for student life and enrollment, said.
Fuerst said the university has historically seen the number of applications spike in the year directly after the men’s or women’s basketball team wins a title.
They say it’s a great opener to spark interest in attending UConn, which then introduces students to the school's academics and student life.
“What our faculty are doing in the classrooms day in and day out with what our staff and student activities and student health and wellness and what campus recreation are doing day in and day out,” Fuerst said.
UConn officials say they expect an influx yet again next year with applications expected to surpass 60,000.
“Well, I guess we're going to have to hire more application readers since we read all of those and they come in and there's a lot of excitement around it,” Fuerst said.
