UConn President Radenka Maric said the university plans to arrest and discipline anyone that vandalized the Storrs campus during celebrations after the men's basketball team won the NCAA Championship.
The university president called the vandalism "reckless, irresponsible and disgraceful," saying members of the team have also expressed their disappointment.
According to UConn, 15 people were arrested following Monday night’s win and charged with various crimes. Another 16 people were transported to area hospitals. None had significant injuries.
"To be absolutely clear: The vast majority of our students and visitors celebrated in a way that was safe, fun, and good-natured. They did nothing wrong. However, a relatively small number put themselves and others in danger, and in some cases actually injured people, by vandalizing parts of the Storrs campus. In addition to being wrong, their actions embarrassed our men’s basketball program, our university, our state, and themselves," Maric said.
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The university president said the cost to make repairs will be extensive and will "consume funds that could otherwise be used to meet the needs of our students."
UConn Police are actively reviewing surveillance footage to determine who else is responsible. They'll be subject to disciplinary action.
Maric said numerous recordings were found on social media and elsewhere, which "makes the task of identifying some of those responsible for damaging our campus easier."
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The UConn Division of Public Safety said the police department has collected images and video posted on social media, "which will act as evidence that will be used in the criminal prosecutions of these crimes."
Police say they may need to post images and videos online and on social media of people vandalizing campus to help identify those who caused damage.
"In many cases, the images are in high resolution and the individuals in them can be seen clearly," police said. "In advance of posting these videos and photographs, we are offering an opportunity to those who may have engaged in criminal activity to proactively contact police investigators to provide their information and describe their conduct."
Maric said the facilities operations team worked through the day and night to clean up the messes and make repairs.
"It is regrettable that the actions of a few cast a pall over what was a great victory and a wonderful occasion," Maric said. "That anyone would 'celebrate' their team winning the NCAA tournament by vandalizing that team’s campus, and their own, is infuriating, unacceptable, and perplexing."
A university spokesperson said there are 55 police officers on site along with 35 state troopers. They've been working on emergency plans since March when it appeared the team may be moving up through the March Madness ranks.
"Even with almost 100 officers on campus, they cannot by everywhere or able to immediately locate of diffuse a situation," the spokesperson said.
The university said similar acts of vandalism happened after the men's basketball 2014 championship win, saying a number of students were arrested and expelled.
"The same will be true this year. In addition to facing arrest, any student found to have caused damage to the campus or otherwise violated the student code of conduct will also face university sanctions up to and including expulsion," Maric said.
University officials are advising students to come forward and take responsibility for their actions.
