Photos: Inside Saturday’s National Championship Celebration

It was a joyful scene, with children in UVA jerseys running around, tournament highlights playing on the video board and huge crowds of fans – many of them sporting brand new national championship gear – filling one side of the stadium, spilling over into the upper deck.

On the field, students danced to music blaring near the stage as they waited for the team to come out. A few yards away, former UVA football star Chris Long played with his small son on the field he once dominated on defense.    

Bennett, when he led his team out, seemed amazed.

“You hope for something like this, but this is beyond what we expected,” he told the crowd, chants of “Tony! Tony!” ringing through the air as afternoon rain clouds cleared. “How you have embraced us is truly special.”

Bennett deflected credit to his players as they assembled beside him on stage, noting that their story – rising from a historic lost to a historic championship – will go down in sports history.

“They are part of one of the greatest stories I have ever seen written,” he said. “It will be told over and over again.”

Thousands came to celebrate that story’s happy ending, among them UVA basketball legend Ralph Sampson, who addressed the crowd after attending every game the team played in the NCAA Tournament. He noted that the day marked a special anniversary for him as well.

“Forty years ago today was my official visit to the UVA,” he said. “It was also my mother’s birthday. She turned 81 today, and how special it is to be here 40 years later.”

“For this team to come back one year later and be here,” he said. “It’s the best story in college basketball history.” Noting he wore the same pair of tennis shoes to each game, he promised to bring them back next year.

“I’ll wear them next year, so we can do it twice.”

Dave Koehn, the play-by-play announcer for Cavalier radio broadcasts, interviewed several players, each one drawing a huge roar from the crowd as they stood up. Each one of them talked about how much they relied on each other – on their teammates and their coaches – to get to this moment.

“I’ve met my best friends for life at this school,” said team captain Jack Salt, who graduates in May. “The bond I have with these guys is something I will carry with me long after basketball.”

Asked how he wanted his year and time at UVA to be remembered, third-year guard Ty Jerome said simply, “I hope people think of me as a good teammate, a good person off the court, and a national champion.”

The players also showed off some hidden talents. Forward Mamadi Diakite, who speaks five languages fluently, taught the crowd what “national champion” sounds like in Malinke, one of several national languages in his home country of Guinea.

Badocchi again sent the team and the crowd off with a song, this time playing the anthem of the NCAA Tournament, “One Shining Moment”.

Frankie Badocchi plays One Shining Moment for the crowd
#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/jV2RBOqJhA

— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) April 13, 2019

Check out some more photos from the afternoon.