HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Not long after Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma as “the greatest coach in the history of college basketball” following Sunday’s championship parade, the Hall of Fame head coach came up with a new title to bestow on the state of Connecticut.

UConn has referred to itself as the “Basketball Capital Of The World” with 18 national men’s or women’s titles since Auriemma led the women’s basketball program to the first of 12 national titles 30 years ago. With parades being held in Hartford in 2023 and 2024 in honor of the back-to-back national titles won by the Huskies’ men’s basketball program, Auriemma told the assembled crowd in front of the XL Center, “this is the third parade in three years so we are officially the parade capital of the world.”

UConn finished the season with a 37-3 record after winning its last 16 games. The Huskies won the six games in the NCAA tournament by an average of 32.8 points to win their first national championship since 2016.

“You guys are amazing,” UConn guard Azzi Fudd said. “You guys make it possible to keep bringing home championships. This championship means everything, but to do it with this team, this team is so special. They are all my sisters, my friends for life. We have been through so much together.”

One of the hard lessons came when UConn learned of the death of Abby Zittoun, a 13-year-old from Simsbury. The team had become close to Zittoun and her family during Abby’s seven-year battle with cancer. She died on Oct. 16.

UConn women's basketball team Celebrates a "special day" with their fans with a championship parade | iNFOnews.ca — UConn’s KK Arnold, left, and Paige Bueckers, right, share a light moment during a parade celebrating the Huskies’ NCAA women’s college basketball championship, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Her family made it to Tampa, Florida, to cheer on UConn. Fudd thanked them for their support, and that drew a huge cheer from the crowd.

Paige Bueckers, who is expected to be the first pick in the WNBA Draft on Monday, Final Four Most Outstanding Player Fudd and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Freshman of the Year Sarah Strong led the Huskies to their record 12th national title.

“There is a lot of thanks to go around,” Bueckers said. “We can’t possibly thank everybody who helped us on this journey.”

The parade was originally scheduled for Saturday. However, with rain in the forecast, it was moved to Sunday afternoon. The festivities culminated with a rally in front of the XL Center. UConn stated that no state or city funds were used to stage the parade. An estimated crowd of 20,000 turned out to support the Huskies.

“We have the greatest team in the country and we have the greatest fans in the country,” Auriemma said.

Auriemma has been known to make bold proclamations at previous UConn championship parades. He didn’t predict that his team would win the national title again during the 2025-26 season, but he came pretty close.

“Remember (UConn men’s basketball) Coach (Dan) Hurley said there was going to be a 3-peat,” Auriemma said. “Well, things didn’t go exactly according to plan, but it was a 3-peat. I don’t know whether it is going to be us or them, but we are going to try to make it a 4-peat.”

After the championship rally. Auriemma reflected on the last gathering to honor a UConn basketball championship team.

“There is a tremendous amount of affection that they have for our players as individuals and our team,” Auriemma said. “There is a bond that they create and it is pretty powerful. A day like today just reinforces that.

“The enthusiasm and the passion that our fans have for our team is just remarkable. We were talking about the very first one on the bus. We tried to reminisce about how much time has gone by since that first one. You see the reaction of the kids and they were blown away by the whole event. It was a great day for them, a great day UConn Nation.”