The UConn Huskies sports teams participate in the NCAA's Division I-A and in the Big East
Conference, except for hockey, which is not sponsored by the Big East. The
men's hockey program competes in Atlantic Hockey and the women's
hockey program is a member of Hockey East.Approximately 70% of all UConn student-athletes graduate from the university, and almost 50% maintain a 3.0 GPA. The women's lacrosse team had the second-highest team GPA in the country in 2004, and
numerous UConn student-athletes, including former basketball star Emeka
Okafor, have been named Academic All-Americans.UConn is best known for having its men's and women's basketball teams consistently ranked in or near the top 10 in the nation
in their respective divisions. The men's team won the NCAA Div. I title in 1999 and
2004, and the women won in 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004, including undefeated seasons in 1995 and 2002. Okafor, Richard Hamilton, Ray Allen, Ben Gordon, Caron Butler,
Svetlana Abrosimova,
Tamika Williams, Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, and
Rebecca Lobo are among the list of professional basketball players to
achieve success after attending UConn.In 2004, UConn became the second school ever, and the first in Division I, to win the
men's and women's basketball titles in the same season. It was also the first
school to ever have both teams ranked number 1 in the nation at the same time (1994), and
has also spent the most weeks by far with both teams holding the number one spot, with Duke University being the only other team ever to achieve the feat, for a short period during the 2003-2004
season.In addition to its basketball success, UConn is known for its solid soccer teams.
The men's team has won two national titles, most recently in 2000, and the women advanced
to the title game in 2003. UConn also has the best average attendance in the nation for
both men's and women's soccer. Major League Soccer players
Chris Gbandi, Damani
Ralph, Bobby Rhine, and Shavar Thomas each attended UConn.UConn football moved up to Division I-A status in 2003; they became an official Big East
member in 2004. UConn has been recognized as having the fastest progression out of I-AA in
NCAA history, as it was invited into a BCS
conference only one year after it upgraded to I-A, was bowl-eligible in its first season in I-A, and was invited to a bowl game
in its first season as a conference member. The Huskies defeated the University of Toledo in the Motor City
Bowl by a score of 39-10, with quarterback Dan Orlovsky being named Most Valuable Player. In 2003, the team was also honored for being one of only 7
schools in the U.S. to graduate 90% or better of its members; it was the only public school on the list.UConn students have sometimes been criticized for their rowdy celebrations after national championship wins. After the men's
basketball team won their first NCAA championship in 1999, widespread rioting and otherwise criminal behavior in Storrs was reported, with numerous fires being set in celebration.
These displays were similar to those that occur almost yearly at other universities that win championships, such as those at
Michigan State in 2000 and Maryland in 2002. Fires were again set in
2004, some well before the first championship game to be played that year (the men's) had
even reached halftime.These incidents led many in the state, especially the editorial staff at
The Hartford Courant, to call for tighter campus security and harsher punishments for such
incidents. Many students and supporters of the university pointed to the fact that most arrests made during these incidents have
been of non-UConn students, and that the majority of riotous behavior occurs at off-campus establishments, especially privately
owned and operated residences and apartment complexes.