Ann Arbor ― University of Michigan fans are celebrating the men’s basketball team’s second NCAA championship in 37 years on Saturday with a parade and a ticketed event at the Crisler Center.
The celebration follows No. 1 seed Michigan’s 69-63 victory Monday night over No. 2 seed UConn at Lucas Oil Stadium. The victory snapped a string of four consecutive losses in the title game since Michigan won it all in 1989 over Seton Hall. It also ended the Big Ten’s national title drought — one that dated to 2000, when Michigan State won it — and tied 2005 Illinois for the most victories by a Big Ten team in a season.
Elliott Cadeau, a sophomore guard who is planning to return for his junior season, led Michigan with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in the championship win and was named the NCAA Tournament’s most valuable player.
A crowd of hundreds welcomed the team back to campus on Tuesday afternoon.
Celebration comes to a close
As the ceremony at Crisler Center came to an end, the Wolverines national championship banner was raised to the rafters and the band played.
Carrie Fisk, who graduated from Michigan in 2013, wore her ballcap from the team’s trip to the Final Four that year on Saturday, and said the banner raising was special.
“It’s really something to finally make it here,” Fisk said. “I will confess, the last time we made it here was the year I was born, so there’s really nothing like it.”
Manuel announces new deal with May
Shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday, the lights at Crisler Center dimmed and a large video screen showed highlights from the Wolverines championship win.
The players and coaches were announced and met with a roar of applause. After coach Dusty May was announced the band played “Hail to the Victors” and fans clapped along.
Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist led the crowd in a call and response. Gilchrist said “Go!” and fans responded “Blue!”
UM Athletic Director Warde Manuel announced that he had “worked out a deal” with May to stay at Michigan, and the crowd erupted in cheers and applause.
Family members attend arena celebration
As the Crisler Center began filling with fans around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, family members of the players were seated in rows in front of the arena stage.
Ricky Craig, uncle of Morez Johnson Jr., traveled from Chicago to attend the ceremony. Craig said he has been watching Johnson play basketball since he started around age 12, and it has been “sensational.”
“He’s been improving every year of his life,” said Craig, attributing Johnson’s success to his consistency.
Craig said he never thought Johnson would get this far, but said he’s not done. “(This is) not his ceiling,” He said. “He’s only going to go farther.”
Like the parade route, the Crisler Center stands were packed with fans in maize and blue. One such fan was Michael Denemy, who graduated from UM in 2014.
Denemy said it’s been great to win the basketball championship so soon after the football championship. Denemy said he went to the football celebration in 2024 just like he did for basketball Saturday.
“It’s just nice to get the community together, feel the energy, see the trophies, watch the banner go up,” Denemy said. “It’s exciting. We’re ready for a good time.”
Coach May, players toss balls into crowd
Players threw white inflatable balls into the crowd, and when coach Dusty May rode by, he motioned for fans to throw the balls back. When they did, he signed them with a marker and tossed them back into the crowd.
Cadeau and Yaxel Lendeborg stood in the back of pickup trucks and waved at fans and smiled as they passed through.
Celebration begins with parade
The parade began promptly at 10 a.m. with the marching band rolling down State Street in pickup trucks playing “Hail to the Victors.” They were followed by cheerleaders chanting, “It’s great to be a Michigan Wolverine.”
Pickups carrying players started rolling down the street around 10:10 a.m. and were met with the roar of the crowd. The players were followed by head coach Dusty May, who waved at the crowd from the back of a Michigan Firehouse Museum truck.
Nathan Ouyang, a UM senior, went to the championship game Monday night and said he’s been a Michigan fan his whole life.
Ouyang said between beating Ohio State in football in 2023, winning the 2023 NCAA football championship, and winning March Madness this year, it’s been the best four years to be a Michigan student.
“Coming to college and finally seeing them win everything, it feels so good,” Ouyang said.
He said the weather for the parade Saturday was much nicer than when the football team won the championship.
“Getting to see all the players up close is also really cool,” he said.
Crowd gathers in anticipation of parade
Fans decked out in blue and maize began to fill the sides of State Street near the president’s house an hour before the start of the parade. Most wore coats or hoodies because of the cold.
Raelin Fontenot, 39, and her 4-year-old daughter Solana Richardson were two of the fans bundled up on the side of the street. Fontenot said she’s been a Wolverines fan for less than a year because she recently moved to Ann Arbor with her fiance, who manages a restaurant downtown.
“Being in Ann Arbor, you kind of have to be a Michigan fan,” Fontenot said.
Fontenot called the parade a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
It’s been so long since the basketball team has won, so watching it, being here with my daughter, we had to be here.”
While college students were among the crowd, many of the fans were much older.
Bernie Stump, 69, grew up in Toledo, Ohio, but connected with the Wolverines because his high school’s football helmets had the same design. He became a fan in the mid-70s after he moved to Michigan for work.
He said the Wolverines had a great season and he enjoyed following the team.
“Those were wonderful games. We watched as many of them as we could. And definitely the last couple ones we were watching.”
“He can put a roster together, and once you’ve got a roster together, you’ve got to get them to come together and play good, and he can do that,” he said.
As 10 a.m. approached, the sides of State Street became full of maize and blue. A helicopter flew overhead and the Ann Arbor Fire Department raised a flag from a ladder truck over the parade route.
Stump especially likes head coach Dusty May.
How to watch Michigan’s basketball celebration
First up is a parade through Central Campus that starts at 10 a.m. in front of the university president’s house at 815 South University Avenue. The parade will then head west to South State Street and will turn left and go south and end at the Yost Ice Arena.
Streets around the parade route will close at 8 a.m.
How to watch the Michigan basketball celebration at the Crisler Center
After the parade, UM will host a championship celebration at the Crisler Center, the home arena of the men’s basketball team. The celebration gets underway at 1 p.m. Tickets are $30 for the upper bowl, $75 for the lower bowl and $20 for students. Tickets are available at MGoBlue.com/tickets. The doors open at noon.
You can also watch the championship celebration on the Big Ten Network at 1 p.m.
mbryan@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan basketball celebrates championship with fans
Reporting by Max Bryan, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
