Fans welcome Michigan hoops champions back to Crisler Arena
Welcoming back a national champion is something they got to do in 2023, too, with the undefeated football team.
Hundreds of University of Michigan students, Ann Arbor residents and fans who drove in from around the state got to do something Tuesday they haven't done in 37 years − welcome home an NCAA National Champion men's basketball team. The joyous celebration that started in the streets of Ann Arbor on Monday night following the Wolverines' 69-63 win over UConn in the National Championship Game in Indianapolis. It moved to Crisler Arena on Tuesday afternoon, April 7, when the team returned home.
It will be followed up by a parade and ticketed event at Crisler Center on Saturday. Fans cheered, sang "Hail to the Victors" and chanted as Coach Dusty May and the players appeared on a Crisler balcony, national championship trophy in tow. "This trophy is yours," May told the fans.
"You brought it all year. You guys were there every step of the way. We appreciate you; these guys appreciate you.
" Jim and Pam Wiskochil live "just down the street" and are lifelong Michigan fans. The couple said they specialize in attending send-offs and arrivals for Michigan sports teams, something they've done for years as a way to show the student-athletes they are supported. "I’ve been to gymnastics buses, baseball buses, the football buses," Jim Wiskochil said.