Recognizing and congratulating the University of Virginia Cavaliers and Philadelphia native De'Andre Hunter for winning the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

WHEREAS,

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, also known and branded as

NCAA March Madness

, is an annual single-elimination tournament played to determine the best college basketball team in the United States

; and

WHEREAS,

The Tournament, which was first played in 1939 and began to be televised in 1969, is one of the most highly anticipated, watched, and wagered-upon annual sporting events in the United States

; and

WHEREAS, The 2019 National Championship Game, played on the evening of April 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was a matchup of two elite teams - the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the University of Virginia (“UVA”) Cavaliers; and

WHEREAS, In just the eighth ever national title game to require an overtime period, UVA, coached by Tony Bennett, came away with an 85-77 victory against Texas Tech and its #1-rated defense, vanquishing the demons of their unexpected loss in last year’s tournament, and bringing their first-ever National Championship trophy back to Charlottesville on the 200th Anniversary of the establishment of the University; and

WHEREAS, Locally, the Cavaliers’ journey to the national title was closely followed by alumni in the region, as well as the family, friends, and former classmates and teammates of redshirt sophomore guard De’Andre Hunter, a Philadelphia native and 2016 graduate of Friends’ Central School, where he earned numerous national honors on the court; and

WHEREAS,

Hunter was crucial to the Cavaliers’ successful regular season, in which they won 35 of their 38 games, and to their run through the tournament bracket, especially in the championship game, where he put up a game-high 27 points and nine rebounds

; and

WHEREAS,

As the buzzer sounded at the end of overtime and De’Andre hurled the game ball toward the rafters of U.S. Bank Stadium, Wahoos in Minneapolis, Charlottesville and around the world rejoiced in the Cavaliers’ triumph, and many of those cheers went up here in Philadelphia;

now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,

That Council does

recognize and congratulate the University of Virginia Cavaliers and Philadelphia native De’Andre Hunter for winning the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to De’Andre Hunter, evidencing the sincere respect and admiration of this legislative body.

End