LOUISVILLE — Cardinal Blvd. was much quieter Tuesday night. Twenty-four hours previously, an estimated crowd of 7,000 had gathered to celebrate the University of Louisville’s 82-76 win in the NCAA men’s basketball national title game against Michigan. Police ultimately had to disperse remaining revelers with tear gas.
Tuesday night, those who had gathered at the same spot to watch Louisville’s women’s team attempted to make it a national-title sweep against Connecticut, left in disappointment. UConn beat Louisville, 93-60, to claim its eighth national championship.
While there was obvious disappointment, and a lot less clean-up needed on the main thoroughfare adjacent to the Louisville campus, there was also a sense of pride within the university of community.
The school will hold a celebration for both teams at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville Wednesday at 5 p.m.
“It shows a great image for the university,” said Gorgui Dieng, a junior center on the men’s team.
The men, minus head coach Rick Pitino, arrived back in Louisville from Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon. Several members of the team, including Dieng, gathered at Clucker’s, a local bar and restaurant, to watch the women’s game. Pitino went to New Orleans for the women’s game. The men’s team had hoped to go to New Orleans to cheer on the UL women but was denied, initially, by the NCAA of that chance because the governing body of college athletics deemed it an “improper benefit.” The NCAA changed its decision but by the time it did, the travel plans for the Cardinals’ men had already been finalized.
“Wherever you are you can support your team,” said Dieng. “Tonight, me and a lot of my teammates were here earlier to support the women’s team. Players at Louisville, it’s just like having a family. You support each other.”
Louisville has been a member of the Big East conference since 2005 but will join the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 2014-15 season. Next season the Cardinals will be in the newly named American Athletic Conference, an offshoot of the Big East, but it will be for that one season only. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Equality in Athletics database, Louisville was among the top 15 schools in the country in terms of its sports department budget in 2011-12 with an operating budget of $84.5 million.
That is part of what made Louisville attractive to the ACC and part of the reason why all of the Cardinal athletic programs are enjoying success.
“It’s probably one of the best weekends our university has had in a great time,” said Rachel Melhado, a junior on the soccer team from Toronto. “One thing that the University of Louisville has focused on is that we are one family and we are one team. When I came down here, it was the community. Everything felt tight-knit, everything was what I was looking for, which was a home away from home. I found that here. My family found that here and felt comfortable enough for me to be 10 hours away from home.”
The Louisville football team beat Southeastern Conference powerhouse Florida 33-23 in the Sugar Bowl this past January.
“It feels great being part of a great sports program,” said Lorenzo Mauldin, a junior defensive end on the football team. “I was out here (Monday) night. We had a watch party in my room. We got into the celebration. At first we were watching from afar but it was getting wild so my roommates and I, we needed to be a part of that celebration.”
Zack Hibbs and Dakota Sears, both seniors, watched the women’s game at Clucker’s after seeing the men’s team win it the title in person in Atlanta. Sears is a member of the pep band — he plays alto saxophone — and played at both men’s games and in the women’s semifinal victory against California. Members of the pep band bussed between Atlanta and New Orleans to perform for both teams.
“I can’t imagine that I’ll have a weekend that will trump this one,” said Sears. “You realize that being in the band we’re a part of it. We a part of what happened with the team.”
The Louisville men rallied from a 12-point deficit in the first half against Michigan to claim the program’s third national title and first since 1986.
“We don’t call them the Cardiac Cards for nothing,” said Hibbs. “I was worried — I’m always worried — but I knew they could come back.”
