Huskies of Honor

Rebecca Lobo
Rebecca Lobo, an inaugural inductee into the Huskies of Honor, was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
Kemba Walker
Kemba Walker was inducted into the Huskies of Honor in a surprise ceremony following the Connecticut Huskies men's basketball 2011 National Championship victory.

Huskies of Honor is a recognition program sponsored by the University of Connecticut (UConn). Similar to a hall of fame, it honors the most significant figures in the history of the UConn Huskies—the university's athletic teams—especially the men's and women's basketball teams. The inaugural honorees, inducted in two separate ceremonies during the 2006–07 season, included thirteen men's basketball players, ten women's basketball players, and four head coaches, of whom two coaches—Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma—and three players—Ray Allen, Swin Cash and Rebecca Lobo—are also enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, with another player, Sue Bird, having been announced as a 2025 Hall of Fame inductee. Since that time, an additional thirteen women's basketball players, ten men's basketball players, nine national championship teams, one women's basketball assistant coach, and one athletic director have been honored. One of these later honorees, player Maya Moore, will be inducted to the Hall of Fame alongside Bird in 2025.

Men's basketball has been played at the University of Connecticut since 1901, when the school was known as Connecticut Agricultural College. The Huskies first achieved success under Coach Hugh Greer, who over a sixteen-year period led the team to twelve Yankee Conference championships, seven National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Tournament berths, and one National Invitation Tournament appearance before dying suddenly during the 1962–63 college basketball season. It was not until Calhoun took over the university's basketball program in 1985, however, that UConn grew from a regional basketball power to a nationally prominent one. Under Calhoun, UConn won three national championships (1999, 2004, 2011), seven Big East tournaments, and ten Big East regular season titles, while placing twenty-six former players into the National Basketball Association (NBA). Following Calhoun's retirement, new head coach Kevin Ollie would lead UConn to a fourth national championship win in 2014. Ollie's successor, current head coach Dan Hurley, led UConn to two more national titles in 2023 and 2024.

Women's basketball was not a major sport at UConn until the arrival of Auriemma in 1985. Under his guidance UConn has enjoyed unprecedented success, winning 12 national titles, including six at the end of undefeated seasons and four consecutive championships from 2013–16. The Huskies also have the two longest winning streaks in NCAA Division I basketball history, at 111 games from 2014–17 and 90 games from 2008–10. Connecticut's rivalry with women's basketball power Tennessee has been one of the most celebrated in the sport. Twenty-six former UConn women's basketball players have gone on to play in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and six—Sue Bird in 2002, Diana Taurasi in 2004, Tina Charles in 2010, Maya Moore in 2011, Breanna Stewart in 2016, and Paige Bueckers in 2025—have been selected first overall in the WNBA draft. Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, and Morgan Tuck were the first three picks in the 2016 draft; this marked the first time three players from the same college were selected 1-2-3 in the draft of any major sport.

Placards honoring the members of the Huskies of Honor are hung at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, the on-campus home court of UConn basketball. Additional information about each of the honorees is displayed on the concourse between the upper and lower stands.

Honorees

Jim Calhoun
Hall of Fame men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun was an inaugural member of the Huskies of Honor.
Emeka Okafor
Husky of Honor Emeka Okafor was drafted second overall in the 2004 NBA draft.
Geno Auriemma
Geno Auriemma was one of the eleven inaugural inductees in 2006 from the women's basketball program into the Huskies of Honor, and the only one who is a man.
Renee Montgomery
Renee Montgomery was the first player to be named a Husky of Honor while still active.
Connecticut Huskies mascot Jonathan pulling down two black curtains, unveiling placards honoring the 2002–03 and 2003–04 women's basketball national championship teams
Huskies of Honor additions December 29, 2013

Men's basketball

Women's basketball

Administrators

The display

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See caption
The Huskies of Honor display at Gampel Pavilion, located on either side of the arena on each side of the scoreboards, as of October 17, 2015.
Left are the placards for men's basketball and John Toner; right are the placards for women's basketball.

Notes

References

Uses material from the Wikipedia article Huskies of Honor, released under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.