UConn women make the big 'Blue Book'

House majority leader Denise Merrill (D-Mansfield) told members of the UConn women’s basketball team that their 2009 National Championship would not only be recorded in the annals of the NCAA, but now would become an official part of the state’s 370-year history.

Speaking Thursday afternoon [Oct. 15] on the floor of Gampel Pavilion – during  a ceremony introducing the 2009 State Register and Manual (commonly referred to as the “Blue Book”) – Merrill  told the team that having this book dedicated to the National Champions, “puts you in state history as someone that the state feels worthy of being honored. This is no small thing: [choosing who to dedicate the manual to each year] is very important to us,” she said.

Honoring the fallen

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, who served as emcee for the 40-minute ceremony, said the manual is also dedicated to 19th century educator Prudence Crandall (a state museum in Canterbury focuses on her bravery in establishing a school for black women), as well as to the memory of fallen Connecticut heroes, Christian S. Cotner, 20, of Waterbury and Timothy J. Brown, 26, of Shelton,  killed in Iraq during the past year, in service to their country.

Paying homage to the life-and-death scenarios in which members of the U.S. military find themselves on a day-in, day-out basis, UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma said during the dedication ceremony, “When one of [my players] makes a mistake, the worse thing that can happen is that we lose a ball game. But as I’ve so often said, there are many people of that age group that are involved in situations where, if they make a mistake, someone could lose their life.”

Chief of Staff for the Connecticut National Guard Col. Ron Welch, offered a brief tribute to the two young men who lost their lives in combat.

University of Connecticut President Dr. Michael J. Hogan also spoke, often joking with the team during a rare situation which found him standing on the Gampel floor and the 11 players sitting in the bleachers applauding those on the court.

According to Bysiewicz, the 2009 edition of the State Register and Manual continues a centuries-old tradition in which Connecticut officials publish information vital in the daily operations of the state while at the same time serving as a valuable reference for state history.

An on-line version of the state Blue Book is available at http://www.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view.asp?a=3188&q=392640

“First Night”

Both the women’s and the men’s basketball teams begin the 2009-10 season with “First Night” activities on Friday, Oct. 16 at Gampel Pavilion.

Doors are scheduled to open at 6 p.m., when players will be available for autographs. Both head coaches are expected to be on hand, as well.

School officials have added a new treat this year, a combined introduction of both teams, accompanied by a laser light show.

The event, which begins at 7 p.m., is free and open to the public.

Posted Oct. 16, 2009