UConn Firsts: ESPN College GameDay
ESPN College GameDay, the network’s weekly college basketball preview show, has originated from Gampel Pavilion five times. UConn played host to the first-ever GameDay for men’s basketball twenty years ago this week on January 22, 2005, and the first-ever for women’s basketball on January 16, 2010. GameDay has also made the trip to Gampel for men’s games in 2012, 2014 and, most recently, in 2024. The show is televised before a raucous audience of mostly students and sets the stage for important basketball weekends. Among the hosts of GameDay that have made their way to UConn are Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps, Dick Vitale, Doris Burke, Jay Williams, Seth Greenberg, Andraya Carter, and Christine Williamson. UConn and the Bristol-based ESPN have a long tradition dating back to a demonstration weekend of programming in November of 1978. A UConn men’s basketball exhibition game and a men’s soccer match were part of that early programming. UConn’s first-ever NCAA championship in any sport was won by the field hockey team in 1981 and the final game was televised live on ESPN. UConn graduates have gained fame on ESPN’s airwaves, including Rebecca Lobo, Dan Orlovsky, Darius Butler, and Molly Qerim.
Latest UConn Today
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- Rivers in the Sky, Arctic Warming, and What this Means for the Greenland Ice SheetCharacterizing weather extremes from the past to add context to future impacts
- The School of Pharmacy to Recognize Three Alumni at the Annual Alumni AwardsThree alumni of the School will be honored in October at the Annual Alumni Reception on October 18th. These individuals have been recognized for their outstanding contributions through three awards: the Exceptional Service Award, the Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Tradition of Excellence Award.
- New Plant and Soil Health Center Named in Honor of Alum George Leigh MinorGeorge Leigh Minor ’56 (CAHNR) passed away at the age of 90 in January 2025, leaving a generous donation, which will be used to fund the renovations necessary to open the George Leigh Minor Plant and Soil Health Center.
- UConn and Yale-led QuantumCT a Finalist for Transformative NSF AwardThe National Science Foundation has announced Connecticut’s initiative as one of the few finalists for the Engines Program.
