UConn basketball
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UConn basketball competes in NCAA Division I, and are in the Big East Conference. hey have been coached by Jim Calhoun for the past 22 years. They have won three NCAA Tournament Championships. Made it to the Elite Eight seven times, won the Big East tournament six times (1990, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2011) and were regular season champs in 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006.
UConn basketball started in 1901 when the then Connecticut Agricultural College played Windham High School (and beat them). By 1903 UConn basketball was a varsity sport.
Their mascot is Jonathan the Husky, and all Siberian Husky that makes appearances at basketball events. While the dog is taken care of by an on-campus fraternity, Jonathan is usually placed in a home. That is a more suitable home for a dog than a frat house. We are currently at Jonathan XIII, and the first Husky came to campus in 1934.
Back when UConn was still the Connecticut Agricultural College, the team was known as the Aggies. Once the school changed its name, a new mascot was needed. They decided on Jonathan after Connecticut Hero Jonathan Trumbull, who was Connecticut’s governor during the Revolutionary War.
UConn basketball under Hugh Greer
You can say that Hugh Greer is partly responsible for the success of the UConn Basketball program. he graduated from UConn and then came back as a coach for the 1946-47 season. He took over as the season was already underway and led the school to a perfect 12-0 record, with the Huskies finishing the season 16-2. That was the best record in UConn’s history at that time. Under Greer, the UConn Huskies won 12 Yankee Conference titles in 16 seasons, including an astounding 10 consecutive seasons from 1951-60. Greer also led the UConn Huskies to seven NCAA berths as well as an NIT appearence. Greer finished his UConn career with a 286-112 record.
UConn basketball remained a regional powerhouse through 1986 and earned several NCCA Tournament bids, but it wasn’t until Jim Calhoun came that the UConn basketball program became the behemoth it is today.
Jim Calhoun’s UConn basketball
Jim Calhoun took over as head coach in 1986 and almost immediately made the UConn basketball program into one of the finest in the country. Calhoun and the UConn Huskies won the NIT tournament in 1988, just two years after he took over! The next year Calhoun was awarded National Coach of the Year a year later in 1990. Jim Calhoun won his 75oth game as a coach on Feb. 21m 2008 against Rutgers and his 500 win as head coach of the UConn Huskies on Feb. 5 2008 with a win over Syracuse.
1999 UConn Basketball NCAA title
In 1999 UConn won the schools first National Title with an incredible 77-74 victory over Duke. Winning the whole thing was awesome, and the fact that we took down Duke made it just a bit sweeter. Rip Hamilton was stellar in that game and was awarded the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. The win transformed the UConn basketball program into the national powerhouse it is today.
2004 UConn Huskies NCAA Title
While the 1999 season was awesome, the 2004 NCAA title will always be my favorite, that because I was going to school there at the time! It was one of the coolest and best times of my life, and I would have killed for UConn tickets to see them in the March Madness tournament. Then again, we did have a pretty great time watching the game on TV, not to mention going out and causing ruckus afterwards. Did you know there were police helicopter flying around after the game? It was wild! Not to mention the fact that the women won the tournament the next day, the first time both mens and womens team won the Division I NCAA title. By the way, have you noticed that the women’s team is not called the “lady huskies,’ just the Huskies? It means that they are equal to men.
Anyway, UConn beat Georgetown 82–73, and Emeka Okafor was the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. That was a great time to be a UConn basketball fan, and it has since been a great time to be a fan. While getting UConn tickets can get a little pricey, its a small price to pay for such an enjoyable time.
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