James A. Calhoun is a retired American college basketball coach. He is best known for his tenure as head coach of the University of Connecticut (UConn) men's basketball team. His teams won three NCAA national championships, played in four Final Fours, won the 1988 NIT title, and won seventeen Big East Championships, which include 7 Big East tournament championships and 10 Big East regular season. With his team's 2011 NCAA title win, the 68-year-old Calhoun became the oldest coach to win a Division I men's basketball title. He won his 800th game in 2009 and finished his NCAA Division I career with 873 victories, ranking 11th all time as of February 2019. From 2018 to 2021, he served as head coach of the University of Saint Joseph men's basketball team. Calhoun is one of only six coaches in NCAA Division I history to win three or more championships, and he is widely considered one of the greatest coaches of all time. In 2005, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
The XL Center is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the quasi-public Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) under a lease with the city and operated by Spectra. In December 2007, the center was renamed when the arena's naming rights were sold to XL Group insurance company in a six-year agreement. The arena is ranked the 28th largest among college basketball arenas. It opened in 1975 as the Hartford Civic Center and was originally located adjacent to Civic Center Mall, which was demolished in 2004. It consists of two facilities: the Veterans Memorial Coliseum and the Exhibition Center.
The UConn Huskies men's basketball program is the NCAA Division I men's college basketball team of the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut. They currently play in the Big East Conference and are coached by Dan Hurley. With six national championships and 45 conference titles, the program is considered one of the blue bloods of college basketball.
The UConn Huskies women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. They currently play in the Big East Conference.
Tiffany Kiara Hayes is an American-Azerbaijani professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Hayes played college basketball for the Connecticut Huskies, playing for the 2009 and 2010 NCAA National Champions.
Dom Perno is an American former basketball coach and former associate athletic director at The George Washington University. He was head basketball coach at the University of Connecticut for nine seasons, from 1977 to 1986, compiling a 139–114 record, leading teams to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). He coached former George Washington head coach Karl Hobbs in college and recruited Rutgers Head Coach, Steve Pikiell to UConn. Before becoming head coach at UConn, he was head coach at St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol, Connecticut, then assistant coach at UConn under Dee Rowe. He was followed at UConn by Jim Calhoun. After UConn, he worked in business and as a broadcaster before being hired by GW in 1997.
DonaldRowe was an American college basketball coach. He coached for the UConn Huskies men's team and was a university Athletics Ambassador, fundraising for college athletic programs.
Daniel S. Hurley is an American men's college basketball coach who is the head coach of the UConn Huskies. In 2023 and 2024, Hurley led UConn to back-to-back NCAA Division I national championships. He previously coached at Rhode Island and Wagner.
The 2010–11 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2010–2011 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Huskies were coached by Jim Calhoun and played their home games at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The Huskies were a member of the Big East Conference.
Niels Giffey is a German professional basketball player for Bayern Munich of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and the EuroLeague. Standing at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), he plays the small forward and shooting guard positions. He also represents the Germany national team.
Napheesa Collier, nicknamed "Phee", is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Collier is also a founder of the Unrivaled basketball league along with Breanna Stewart. After playing college basketball for the University of Connecticut Huskies, Collier was drafted by the Lynx with the 6th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft. She has won two Olympic gold medals playing on the United States women's national basketball team in the Tokyo 2020 and the Paris 2024 games. She is also currently a vice president on the Women's National Basketball Players Association executive committee.
Anthony Ireland is an American former professional basketball player. A native of Waterbury, Connecticut, Ireland notably played collegiate basketball at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA from 2010 to 2014 before embarking a professional career spanning across Europe.
R. J. Cole is an American professional basketball player for Rytas Vilnius of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) and the BCL. He played college basketball for the Howard Bison and the UConn Huskies.
Paige Madison Bueckers is an American college basketball player for the UConn Huskies of the Big East Conference.
Aaliyah Edwards is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at UConn. She was selected 6th overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2024 WNBA draft. Edwards has represented Canada since her cadet years and has been playing for the senior Canadian national team since she was 16 years old.
The 2021–22 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Huskies, led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma in his 37th season at UConn, split their home games between Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center and were members of the Big East Conference, which they joined for women's basketball the previous season. UConn was a member of the original Big East Conference from 1979 through 2013, and one of the original women's basketball teams in that conference in 1982.
Nika Mühl is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball as a point guard for the UConn Huskies. Twice named Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year while in college, Mühl is UConn's all-time leader in career assists, with 686, and also holds the program records for most assists in a single season and in a single game. She was selected 14th overall by Seattle in the 2024 WNBA draft.
Lou Lopez Sénéchal is a Mexican-French professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Hozono Global Jairis of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto. She played her collegiate basketball for the UConn Huskies of the Big East Conference. She previously played for the Fairfield Stags and was named MAAC Player of the Year as a senior. She was selected 5th overall in the 2023 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings.
Donovan John Clingan is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies, winning two consecutive national championships from 2023 to 2024.
Hassan Diarra is an American college basketball player for the UConn Huskies of the Big East Conference. He started his college career with the Texas A&M Aggies.
