The ‘Power of Friendship’ lifted the UConn women’s basketball team to the program’s 12th national championship in April and the phrase has been commemorated forever in the team’s new bling.
Nearly seven months after the Huskies defeated South Carolina 82-59 in the NCAA championship game to win the university’s first title since 2016, Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers returned to Storrs, Connecticut, to receive the first national championship ring of her career alongside former teammates.
‘The power of friendship … is the reason that we did win it,’ said Bueckers, who helped design the ring alongside Azzi Fudd and Caroline Ducharme. ‘We just went off of straight vibes and we stuck together through it all.’
The championship rings, which feature many intricate details symbolizing the Huskies 2024-25 title run, were awarded during a team ceremony on Thursday night called, A Night With Champions, ahead of the Huskies season-opener against Louisville on Nov. 4. The matchup was originally to be held in Germany, but was relocated to the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland amid the government shutdown.
Here’s a closer look at the details that make up the Huskies’ national championship rings:
Twelve stones for every national championship
UConn’s signature logo is featured prominently across the front of the championship ring in blue stones layered over a gold championship trophy draped in a cut basketball net, a celebratory tradition after securing a national title. The team name and trophy is surrounded by ‘National Champions’ and 12 trapezoid stones to represent the record number of national titles the program has won.
Bueckers explained the team opted for a mostly silver ring because she’s “a huge silver girlie.’
“We all collaborated. We wanted mostly silver, but we got the national championship trophy as the gold, of course,’ Bueckers explained, offering some insight into the designing process.
Piece of championship game ball included
The championship ring comes with its own souvenir. The top can be removed to unveil a piece of the actual championship game ball. The top of the ring also doubles as a pendant and can be worn on a chain when not topping the ring.
“That’s a piece of the basketball that we won it with on the inside,” Bueckers pointed out. “So a total summary and a beautiful masterpiece of the national championship journey.’
The power of friendship, vibes
Bueckers revealed in April that the team adopted the ‘power of friendship’ motto after it first caught fire online. ‘I saw on social media, they were saying UConn won based on the power of friendship. It’s so accurate. Just how much we love each other, how much we’re connected, how much we’ve been through as individuals, as a team, and how much it has bonded us and helped us become national champions. So I wouldn’t trade it for anything,’ Buckers said during an appearance on the ‘Today’ show in April.
The phrase is featured on the side of the championship ring, alongside the Husky logo and Gampel Pavilion. The rings also includes the phrase, ‘Vibes,’ which Bueckers said was the Huskies ‘vibe of the year.’
“We just went off of straight vibes,’ she explained. ‘And on the inside of the ring where you put your finger, we have the national championship score, the Final Four score, the Elite Eight score, and the Sweet 16 score. So kind of the journey to get there.”
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