Thousands of UConn fans celebrated the women’s basketball team’s NCAA national championship with a parade through downtown Hartford Sunday afternoon.
The Huskies won their 12th national title last week against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
The parade stepped off from the Capitol and passed through Bushnell Park, under the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, and along Trumbull Street culminating with a rally outside UConn’s home court, the XL Center.
Head Coach Geno Auriemma invoked last year’s prediction of a “three-peat” by Dan Hurley, head coach of the UConn men’s basketball team, which won NCAA titles in 2023 and 2024.
Hurley’s premonition came exactly a year earlier, as he spoke outside the XL Center following a similar victory parade feting his 2024 team.
“Things didn’t go exactly according to plan, but it was a three-peat,” Auriemma said. “And I don’t know whether it’s going to be us or them, but we’re going to try to make it a four-peat.”
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said the lady Huskies’ victory reaffirmed Hartford’s status as “the basketball capital of the world.”
UConn star Paige Bueckers and her teammates traversed the parade route atop a Peter Pan bus. Shortly after the parade ended, reports surfaced that she was signing a three-year deal with the 3-on-3 league Unrivaled.
The parade and rally were funded by private donations through business sponsorships. No state or city funding was used.
