If you haven’t totally been keeping up with UConn basketball throughout the Huskies’ dominant run in recent years, then you’ve missed at least one celebrity coming into the March Madness spotlight. Bill Murray has been a fixture in the stands for the past two seasons with the Huskies continuing to roll through the competition to back-to-back national championships.
All signs point to the actor who starred in such classic films as Caddyshack, Stripes, Ghostbusters and, of course, Space Jam, being along for the ride with Dan Hurley's Huskies for as long as they're in the NCAA Tournament and, though we won't see him, surely beyond that as well.
However, if fans are just tuning in to watch the Huskies, there’s a good chance you’re quite confused as to why Murray is so involved in this. Is he a Connecticut native? No, that doesn't make sense, especially with his larger Chicago sports ties, specifically to the Cubs as he was a fixture in their 2016 World Series run.
He's clearly a massive sports fan given his presence for the Cubs, UConn and otherwise as well as some of his filmography. But his ties to the Huskies go much deeper than that.
Why is Bill Murray at UConn basketball March Madness games?
Put simply, Bill Murray is at UConn basketball games and a Huskies fan because his son, Luke, has been a longtime assistant on Dan Hurley's staff.
Luke Murray joined the staff in the past few years and, with the success of the program this year, Bill Murray has been a key figure in the stands supporting his son but also getting some of the spotlight and maybe taking some pressure off of the young players. Bill was also prominently featured in the stands previously at both Xavier and Louisville, two other stops in Luke's assistant coaching career.
Bill Murray son in college basketball: Luke Murray coaching history before UConn
Murray has been on the Huskies staff for five years with Hurley, but the 14-year college basketball coaching veteran is familiar with the head coach. They previously worked together at Rhode Island and Wagner, including with the former in the 2014-15 season that was huge for the Rams.
Bill Murray’s son then moved up in the college basketball coaching world as he was hired at Xavier, where he coached from 2015-18 and helped lead the Musketeers to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances and berths that the actor was also along for the ride for. With shakeups in that program, namely Chris Mack leaving for Louisville, Murray followed and joined the Cardinals staff, which then led him to this place.
Where did Bill Murray go to college?
Bill Murray did not ever attend UConn, nor did the actor even graduate from college. After graduating high school, though, Murray did briefly attend Regis University, a private institution in Denver, CO, where he took pre-med courses. He dropped out early in his stay, though, before ultimately ending up going back to Illinois.
However, in 2007, the acting legend was awarded an honorary degree as a Doctor of Humanities by Regis, a sign of goodwill to Murray from the university he’d once attended.
The actor also, obviously, didn't play college basketball. But Space Jam fans can definitely attest to the fact that he has a little bit of hoops in his blood. After all, he helped save the universe from the Monstars and Moron Mountain as much as Michael Jordan did, so that will always count in the hearts of '90s kids.