When asked about the difficulties of becoming national champions again, which was a miracle unheard of in the people’s NCAA Tournament since Florida did it in 2006 and 2007, University of Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley responded with candor.
” When you play at UConn, it’s pressurized”, Hurley told reporters last week before the Huskies ‘ first March Madness activity. ” But, when you get to these events like the NCAA competition, the lamps are very beautiful … We are used to playing as a great destination. We perform also under pressure”.
The top-seeding Huskies made it to the Sweet 16 after the first two rounds of play. They’re certainly only. Led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma, UConn’s children’s group has also reached the college’s 30th right Sweet 16 in a search for a 12th name.

In a time when college basketball is dictating so much across the athletics environment, from Television contracts to meeting realignment, UConn is the only school to have won both Division I basketball titles in the same season. This is true even in this transformative era, when leading basketball programs may have, even when it is dictating both in the same year.
According to UConn athletic director Dave Benedict,” the entire brand recognition is our university’s greatest price,” in an exam. ” Obviously basketball schools do n’t necessarily benefit as significantly from a financial standpoint]as big- time football programs ] but certainly from a brand recognition standpoint”.
The Huskies compete in the Big East for some sports, including baseball, but are separate in sports. UConn ranked outside the top 70 public FBS schools in football ticket sales in fiscal year 2023 ( just$ 1.7 million ) but was 13th in men’s basketball ticket sales ($ 6.3 million ) and first in women’s basketball ticket sales ($ 2.8 million ).
According to Big East senior connect director Dan Leibovitz,” [t]he history of the Big East has really shown that basketball you live, whether you have great time football or not,” in an interview. You know what can happen if you have the proper tools and a coach in place. You do n’t need 100 players in basketball, just a roster of 13 scholarships. … There’s really no ceiling to what]UConn ] can accomplish”.
One of the key factors attracted the Big 12 Conference, which reached up to UConn likely to pull the Huskies away from the hockey- first Big East Conference, was the men’s and women’s basketball programs ‘ storied history and championship tradition. It’s a part of Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark’s plan to expand the conference through one of the most well-known sports in the world.
While the Huskies never jumped—the Big 12 has expanded with BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston, and will add Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Arizona State next season—the movement and outside interest speaks to how UConn athletics has managed to use its basketball program at a position of strength among football- centric schools.

It’s not, however, without some financial challenges. One of the nation’s top public FBS athletic departments receives the most heavily subsidized funding. The department reported$ 38.7 million in total in subsidies for the Huskies, which placed them in the top 10, in fiscal year 2023, including student fees and the school’s academic side. That was 43 % of the department’s operating expenses, which were$ 91.9 million.
The Huskies appear to be reaping the rewards of their decision to rejoin the Big East almost four years ago after leaving the American Athletic Conference. The basketball program, which had been a powerhouse built by former UConn coach Jim Calhoun, was n’t receiving the national attention its fanbase was used to. After seven years in the AAC, the basketball program was n’t getting the national spotlight that its fanbase was used to. ” That had gone away”, Benedict said. ” Fortunately, we had the opportunity to make that choice and return to a league that we thought would fit much better,” the statement read.
Some naysayers were baffled as to why UConn would return to a conference after the Huskies were eliminated from the program during the final round of significant adjustment more than ten years ago. However, UConn instead made the decision to prioritize basketball by leaving the football-focused AAC and moving back to the league where it was a founding member.
” I would like someone to tell me now that it was n’t the right decision”, Benedict said. ” It was. It’s not perfect for every program on our campus, but it ultimately came down to reposition our men’s basketball program to ensure our program’s relevance on the global stage.