UConn fans have long proclaimed Storrs to be the “Basketball Capital of the World,” and now, it’s officially in writing.
UConn finished work on its new court on Thursday, and athletic director Dave Benedict tweeted out a picture of the new hardwood with the slogan written across one of the out of bounds lines.
You like this @UConnHuskies? https://t.co/McQNNjeLT0 pic.twitter.com/gDSIdkisBr
— David Benedict (@UConnHuskyAD) August 3, 2023
“Get your first (look) at Alumni Court at Gampel Pavilion!” Benedict tweeted. “(UConn men’s and women’s basketball) going to make many more memories on this new court!”
Retweet if you’re coming to Gampel this season 🔥#BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/CEmM3ji6n2
— UConn Huskies (@UConnHuskies) August 4, 2023
The court was installed this offseason after the old hardwood at Gampel had been in use for 33 years, dating back to 1990. Interestingly, the program’s rise to national prominence coincides almost directly with the opening of Gampel, with the building opening in the middle of the men’s team’s “Dream Season,” when Jim Calhoun and the Huskies won both the Big East regular season and tournament titles for the first time and advanced all the way to the Elite Eight.
The women’s unprecedented run of success began shortly thereafter, as UConn reached the Final Four for the first time in 1991 and won the first of a record 11 championships in 1995.
With a combined 16 national titles in men’s and women’s basketball, it’s hard to argue that Storrs isn’t the college basketball capital of the world– or at least the country. No other program in the nation has more combined men’s and women’s titles.
Fans can still buy pieces of the old Gampel Pavilion court, in the form of wood blocks, pendants, bottle openers, desk frames and more.
The Huskies will take to the new court for the first time in November.