{"id":109981,"date":"2026-04-20T15:35:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/?p=109981"},"modified":"2026-04-20T16:24:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:24:42","slug":"unforgettable-umw-city-celebrate-mens-basketball-national-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/20\/unforgettable-umw-city-celebrate-mens-basketball-national-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"UMW, City Celebrate Eagles Men\u2019s Basketball National Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"wp-block-umw-hero alignfull umw-custom-block umw-hero umw-hero--dark-text umw-hero--media-float-right umw-hero--white umw-hero--with-no-media umw-hero--with-no-content\"><div class=\"umw-hero__inner\"><div class=\"umw-hero__media\"><\/div><div class=\"umw-hero__title\"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"umw-hero__title__wrapper\"><h1 class=\"umw-hero__title__header\">News<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"alignwide wp-block-post-title\">UMW, City Celebrate Eagles Men\u2019s Basketball National Championship<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group umw-news-author-credit is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2026-04-20T15:35:20-04:00\">April 20, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n\n\n<p>by<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author-name\">Lisa Chinn Marvashti<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"742\" data-attachment-id=\"109959\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-1-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1856\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549352&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;The University of Mary Washington celebrated its Men&amp;#8217;s Basketball team&amp;#8217;s NCAA Division III national championship win with a Fan Fest event that brought the community to UMW&amp;#8217;s Anderson Center. The day held a flurry of festivities, including autograph and photo opportunities with the No. 1 team, the Eagles. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-1-300x218.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-1-1024x742.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-1-1024x742.jpg\" alt=\"A group of basketball players stand outside an arena holding a national championship trophy\" class=\"wp-image-109959\" style=\"width:300px\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-1-1024x742.jpg 1024w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-1-300x218.jpg 300w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-1-768x557.jpg 768w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-1-1536x1114.jpg 1536w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-1-2048x1485.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The University of Mary Washington celebrated its Men&#8217;s Basketball team&#8217;s NCAA Division III national championship win with a Fan Fest event that brought the community to UMW&#8217;s Anderson Center. The day held a flurry of festivities, including autograph and photo opportunities with the No. 1 team, the Eagles. Photo by Tom Rothenberg.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The University of Mary Washington\u2019s Anderson Center was jumping last weekend with a crowd ready to celebrate a victory. And it was a big one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The breathtaking buzzer-beating basket that won the Eagles Men\u2019s Basketball team its first-ever NCAA Division III championship in Indianapolis on Easter Sunday sparked hugs and high-fives from coast to coast. Back home on Saturday, a community gathered to honor these love-of-the-sport student-athletes and their incredible run to the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just a basket. It was a moment that will be talked about for decades to come,\u201d Fredericksburg Mayor Kerry Devine \u201984 said of the historic win, made even more special for a team with no seniors. \u201cYou played with heart, you played with grit, and you played for the name on the front of your jersey. You have made Fredericksburg a championship city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The entire team \u2013 players and coaches \u2013 took a victory lap through town on an Eagle-spirit-trimmed trolley, with fans snapping pictures and flashing signs of support along the route. But when the vehicle, led by a police escort, chugged its way off of College Avenue and into the Fan Fest event in the Anderson Center parking lot, the party was really on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hundreds of starry-eyed well-wishers watched the team climb the steps and hoist their golden-trimmed trophy into the air. Fans wearing \u201cnational championship\u201d T-shirts and waving blue and white pompoms cheered as Assistant Athletic Director Clint Often introduced the winners one by one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt really means a lot to see you all here today to help us celebrate,\u201d Jadon Burgess told the crowd, thanking parents, coaches, and the campus and Fredericksburg communities. \u201cWithout you all, we wouldn\u2019t have been able to do this.\u201d Fellow UMW junior and guard Hasan Hammad followed with shout-outs to faculty members and advisors who helped keep the team \u2013 who also volunteer with local youth basketball programs \u2013 on track academically throughout the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And what a season it was.<\/p>\n\n\n<section class=\"image-gallery layout__block\">\r\n\t<div class=\"image-gallery__inner\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__wrapper\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__main\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__main__track\" js-slideshow-track=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109960\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-3-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1642\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549351&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-3-300x192.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-3-1024x657.jpg\" data-id=\"109960\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-3-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"Women hold pompoms and signs in celebration\" class=\"wp-image-109960\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109962\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-4\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-9-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1818\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549352&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-9-300x213.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-9-1024x727.jpg\" data-id=\"109962\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-9-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"People on a city street take pictures and clap\" class=\"wp-image-109962\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109963\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-5\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-16-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549353&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-16-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-16-1024x683.jpg\" data-id=\"109963\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-16-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"People on a city street take pictures and clap\" class=\"wp-image-109963\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109970\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-12\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-28-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1753\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-28-300x205.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-28-1024x701.jpg\" data-id=\"109970\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-28-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"Several people on a city street hold celebratory posters\" class=\"wp-image-109970\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-28-1131x772.jpg 1131w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-28-300x205.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1131px) 100vw, 1131px\" \/><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__nav image-gallery__nav--previous\" aria-label=\"Previous\" js-prev>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" 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class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109960\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-3-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1642\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549351&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-3-300x192.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-3-1024x657.jpg\" data-id=\"109960\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-3-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"Women hold pompoms and signs in celebration\" class=\"wp-image-109960\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 1 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109962\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-4\/\" 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src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-9-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"People on a city street take pictures and clap\" class=\"wp-image-109962\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 2 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109963\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-5\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-16-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549353&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-16-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-16-1024x683.jpg\" data-id=\"109963\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-16-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"People on a city street take pictures and clap\" class=\"wp-image-109963\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 3 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109970\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-12\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-28-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1753\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-28-300x205.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-28-1024x701.jpg\" data-id=\"109970\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-28-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"Several people on a city street hold celebratory posters\" class=\"wp-image-109970\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__description-container\" js-description-container>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\n\n\n<p>With a 24-3 record and undefeated at home, the Eagles entered the NCAA Division III tournament as Coast 2 Coast champs, and a community collectively began holding its breath, as they bounced closer and closer to the top Division III prize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Win after win, on their home turf in the Anderson Center\u2019s Ron Rosner Arena and in Indiana, they brought the press \u2013 both on the court and off. The team made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/03\/26\/umw-mens-basketball-draws-widespread-support-ahead-of-title-game\/\">headlines<\/a> in local news and in the likes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7178409\/2026\/04\/07\/mary-washington-division-iii-game-winning-shot\/\"><em>The New York Times<\/em><\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reels\/DWxze6Cimvu\/\">ESPN<\/a>, squeezing in interviews between classwork and court time. They told their stories \u2013 families with rich basketball histories, teammates together since grade school, observing Ramadan while playing \u2013 on TV, radio, podcasts and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the finishing touch, Head Coach Marcus Kahn received the 2026 Glenn Robinson National <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/01\/umw-mens-basketball-head-coach-named-ncaa-division-iii-coach-of-the-year\/\">Coach of the Year award<\/a>, reserved for the top head coach in NCAA Division III college basketball.<\/p>\n\n\n<section class=\"image-gallery layout__block\">\r\n\t<div class=\"image-gallery__inner\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__wrapper\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__main\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__main__track\" js-slideshow-track=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109966\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-8\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-21-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1847\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-21-300x216.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-21-1024x739.jpg\" data-id=\"109966\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-21-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A basketball player signs an autograph using a person's back for a surface to write on\" class=\"wp-image-109966\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109977\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-19\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-42-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1877\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549356&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-42-300x220.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-42-1024x751.jpg\" data-id=\"109977\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-42-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A basketball player signs an autograph for a child\" class=\"wp-image-109977\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109978\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-20\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-43-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1712\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549356&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-43-300x201.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-43-1024x685.jpg\" data-id=\"109978\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-43-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A basketball player signs an autograph for a child\" class=\"wp-image-109978\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109980\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-21\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-22-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1935\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-22-300x227.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-22-1024x774.jpg\" data-id=\"109980\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-22-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A basketball player signs an autograph for a child\" class=\"wp-image-109980\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__nav image-gallery__nav--previous\" aria-label=\"Previous\" js-prev>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\r\n<path d=\"M18.5 12H6M6 12L12 6M6 12L12 18\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/>\r\n<\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__nav image-gallery__nav--next\" aria-label=\"Next\" js-next>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\r\n<path d=\"M6 12H18.5M18.5 12L12.5 6M18.5 12L12.5 18\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/>\r\n<\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnails\" js-thumbnails-container=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnails__track\" js-thumbnail-track>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 0 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109966\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-8\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-21-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1847\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-21-300x216.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-21-1024x739.jpg\" data-id=\"109966\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-21-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A basketball player signs an autograph using a person's back for a surface to write on\" class=\"wp-image-109966\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 1 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109977\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-19\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-42-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1877\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549356&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-42-300x220.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-42-1024x751.jpg\" data-id=\"109977\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-42-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A basketball player signs an autograph for a child\" class=\"wp-image-109977\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 2 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109978\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-20\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-43-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1712\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549356&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-43-300x201.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-43-1024x685.jpg\" data-id=\"109978\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-43-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A basketball player signs an autograph for a child\" class=\"wp-image-109978\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 3 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109980\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-21\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-22-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1935\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-22-300x227.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-22-1024x774.jpg\" data-id=\"109980\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-22-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A basketball player signs an autograph for a child\" class=\"wp-image-109980\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__description-container\" js-description-container>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\n\n\n<p>Along the way, Often told Saturday\u2019s crowd, he counseled the players to appreciate every second of their journey to the big game against Georgia\u2019s Emory University at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis before an audience of 72,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLittle did I know what was about to happen,\u201d Often said of the tumultuous championship contest that had the Eagles up one minute, down the next, and tied toward the end. Then, with a single second left on the clock, tournament MVP Kye Robinson\u2019s final shot blew past the rim but somehow reached the unguarded hands of fellow sophomore Colin Mitchell, who sunk it for the win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The unforgettable moment sent Eagles fans soaring, with hearty high-fives, teary-eyed hugs and oh-so-much pride in Indiana, where many had traveled to root them on, and at watch parties on campus and throughout the country. Hashtags like #MaryWash, #GetDirtyGoWash and #FXBG lit up social media.<\/p>\n\n\n<section class=\"image-gallery layout__block\">\r\n\t<div class=\"image-gallery__inner\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__wrapper\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__main\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__main__track\" js-slideshow-track=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109973\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-15\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-35-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1870\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549355&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-35-300x219.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-35-1024x748.jpg\" data-id=\"109973\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-35-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A woman speaks into a microphone in front of a crowd\" class=\"wp-image-109973\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109972\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-14\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-34-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1785\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549355&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-34-300x209.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-34-1024x714.jpg\" data-id=\"109972\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-34-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A man speaks into a microphone in front of a crowd\" class=\"wp-image-109972\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109964\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-6\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-19-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-19-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-19-1024x683.jpg\" data-id=\"109964\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-19-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A university president speaks into a microphone to a team of basketball players on the steps of a building\" class=\"wp-image-109964\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109965\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-7\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-20-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1651\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-20-300x194.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-20-1024x660.jpg\" data-id=\"109965\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-20-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A huge crowd at a celebration fans out across a parking lot\" class=\"wp-image-109965\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__nav image-gallery__nav--previous\" aria-label=\"Previous\" js-prev>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\r\n<path d=\"M18.5 12H6M6 12L12 6M6 12L12 18\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/>\r\n<\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__nav image-gallery__nav--next\" aria-label=\"Next\" js-next>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\r\n<path d=\"M6 12H18.5M18.5 12L12.5 6M18.5 12L12.5 18\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/>\r\n<\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnails\" js-thumbnails-container=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnails__track\" js-thumbnail-track>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 0 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109973\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-15\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-35-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1870\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549355&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-35-300x219.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-35-1024x748.jpg\" data-id=\"109973\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-35-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A woman speaks into a microphone in front of a crowd\" class=\"wp-image-109973\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 1 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109972\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-14\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-34-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1785\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549355&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-34-300x209.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-34-1024x714.jpg\" data-id=\"109972\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-34-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A man speaks into a microphone in front of a crowd\" class=\"wp-image-109972\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 2 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109964\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-6\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-19-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-19-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-19-1024x683.jpg\" data-id=\"109964\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-19-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A university president speaks into a microphone to a team of basketball players on the steps of a building\" class=\"wp-image-109964\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 3 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109965\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-7\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-20-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1651\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-20-300x194.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-20-1024x660.jpg\" data-id=\"109965\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-20-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A huge crowd at a celebration fans out across a parking lot\" class=\"wp-image-109965\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__description-container\" js-description-container>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese guys are true student-athletes and great personalities,\u201d said former Athletic Director Edward Hegmann, who started Mary Washington\u2019s men\u2019s basketball program in 1976. \u201cThey really love each other, and that\u2019s why they were so successful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dean of Students Melissa Jones served as emcee at the two-hour Fan Fest to honor the team, their record-setting 30 wins and their standing as national champions. Balloons, festive d\u00e9cor, food, inflatables and children\u2019s activities revved up the crowd \u2013 and of course there was a chance to shoot hoops. Players signed autographs on free posters, T-shirts and ball caps, and posed for photos with fans. B101.5 radio broadcast live onsite at the event.<\/p>\n\n\n<section class=\"image-gallery layout__block\">\r\n\t<div class=\"image-gallery__inner\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__wrapper\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__main\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__main__track\" js-slideshow-track=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109961\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-6-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1704\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549352&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-6-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-6-1024x682.jpg\" data-id=\"109961\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-6-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A basketball team is shown riding inside a trolley\" class=\"wp-image-109961\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109971\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-13\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-31-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1704\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549355&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-31-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-31-1024x682.jpg\" data-id=\"109971\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-31-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A banner saying &quot;national champions&quot; is shown on the back of a trolley\" class=\"wp-image-109971\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109974\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-16\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-38-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1807\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549356&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-38-300x212.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-38-1024x723.jpg\" data-id=\"109974\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-38-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A team of basketball players, with one player speaking into a microphone\" class=\"wp-image-109974\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109975\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-17\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-39-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549356&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-39-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-39-1024x683.jpg\" data-id=\"109975\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-39-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A team of basketball players, with one player speaking into a microphone\" class=\"wp-image-109975\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__nav image-gallery__nav--previous\" aria-label=\"Previous\" js-prev>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\r\n<path d=\"M18.5 12H6M6 12L12 6M6 12L12 18\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/>\r\n<\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__nav image-gallery__nav--next\" aria-label=\"Next\" js-next>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\r\n<path d=\"M6 12H18.5M18.5 12L12.5 6M18.5 12L12.5 18\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/>\r\n<\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnails\" js-thumbnails-container=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnails__track\" js-thumbnail-track>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 0 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109961\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-6-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1704\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549352&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-6-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-6-1024x682.jpg\" data-id=\"109961\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-6-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A basketball team is shown riding inside a trolley\" class=\"wp-image-109961\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 1 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109971\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-13\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-31-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1704\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549355&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-31-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-31-1024x682.jpg\" data-id=\"109971\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-31-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A banner saying &quot;national champions&quot; is shown on the back of a trolley\" class=\"wp-image-109971\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 2 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109974\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-16\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-38-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1807\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549356&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-38-300x212.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-38-1024x723.jpg\" data-id=\"109974\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-38-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A team of basketball players, with one player speaking into a microphone\" class=\"wp-image-109974\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail\" aria-label=\"Slide 3 thumbnail\" js-thumbnail>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109975\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-17\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-39-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1707\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549356&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-39-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-39-1024x683.jpg\" data-id=\"109975\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-39-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A team of basketball players, with one player speaking into a microphone\" class=\"wp-image-109975\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__description-container\" js-description-container>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\n\n\n<p>UMW President Troy Paino summed up the epic weeks-long run that earned a team, a school and a community a national title \u2013 and the day carved out to celebrate it \u2013 calling the winning down-to-the-wire basket a once-in-a-lifetime experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe were rooting for you because of the kind of people you are. You\u2019re an extension of our community, and we\u2019re just so proud of you and your character,\u201d he said. \u201cThank you for taking us along on this amazing ride.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<section class=\"image-gallery layout__block\">\r\n\t<div class=\"image-gallery__inner\">\r\n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__wrapper\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__main\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__main__track\" js-slideshow-track=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109967\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-9\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-23-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1917\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-23-300x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-23-1024x767.jpg\" data-id=\"109967\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-23-1131x772.jpg\" alt=\"A basketball coach signs an autograph, using a child's back for a surface to write on\" class=\"wp-image-109967\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__slide\" js-slide=\"true\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-main\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1131\" height=\"772\" data-attachment-id=\"109968\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-10\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-24-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1759\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW 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decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109967\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-9\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-23-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1917\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-23-300x225.jpg\" 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data-orig-size=\"2560,1759\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549354&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-24-300x206.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-24-1024x703.jpg\" data-id=\"109968\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-24-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"A fan asks a basketball player to 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class=\"image-gallery__slideshow__thumbnail__inner\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<html><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-umw-gallery-thumb\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"224\" height=\"116\" data-attachment-id=\"109976\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/umw-fanfest-18\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-41-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1781\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1776549356&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;2026\/Tom Rothenberg&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;UMW Fanfest&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-41-300x209.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-41-1024x712.jpg\" data-id=\"109976\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/Fanfest-41-224x116.jpg\" alt=\"People stand under tents with spirited T-shirts to give away\" class=\"wp-image-109976\"><\/figure><\/html>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__pager__section\" js-page><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"image-gallery__description-container\" js-description-container>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t                                        <div class=\"image-gallery__description\" js-description aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\r\n                    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by The University of Mary Washington\u2019s Anderson Center was jumping last weekend with a crowd ready to celebrate a victory. And it was a big one. The breathtaking buzzer-beating basket that won the Eagles Men\u2019s Basketball team its first-ever NCAA Division III championship in Indianapolis on Easter Sunday sparked hugs and high-fives from coast to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":109979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[704],"tags":[],"topics":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-109981","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UMW, City Celebrate Eagles Men\u2019s Basketball National Championship - News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/20\/unforgettable-umw-city-celebrate-mens-basketball-national-championship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UMW, City Celebrate Eagles Men\u2019s Basketball National Championship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by The University of Mary Washington\u2019s Anderson Center was jumping last weekend with a crowd ready to celebrate a victory. And it was a big one. The breathtaking buzzer-beating basket that won the Eagles Men\u2019s Basketball team its first-ever NCAA Division III championship in Indianapolis on Easter Sunday sparked hugs and high-fives from coast to [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/20\/unforgettable-umw-city-celebrate-mens-basketball-national-championship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UniversityofMaryWashington\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-20T19:35:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-20T20:24:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/04\/NewRelease_FanFest.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"413\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@UMaryWash\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UMaryWash\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/20\\\/unforgettable-umw-city-celebrate-mens-basketball-national-championship\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/20\\\/unforgettable-umw-city-celebrate-mens-basketball-national-championship\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lisa Chinn Marvashti\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eab3b9dd084c2488474792f0c391b8e7\"},\"headline\":\"UMW, City Celebrate Eagles Men\u2019s Basketball National Championship\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-20T19:35:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-20T20:24:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/20\\\/unforgettable-umw-city-celebrate-mens-basketball-national-championship\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":879,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/20\\\/unforgettable-umw-city-celebrate-mens-basketball-national-championship\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/7\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/NewRelease_FanFest.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Top Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/20\\\/unforgettable-umw-city-celebrate-mens-basketball-national-championship\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/20\\\/unforgettable-umw-city-celebrate-mens-basketball-national-championship\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/news\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/20\\\/unforgettable-umw-city-celebrate-mens-basketball-national-championship\\\/\",\"name\":\"UMW, City Celebrate Eagles Men\u2019s Basketball National Championship - 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