STORRS, Conn. (WTNH) — Celebrations last April for the University of Connecticut’s men’s basketball team’s national win quickly turned chaotic.
“At one point I saw like people battle ramming like our [student union] with a light post and I was like okay people are really taking things really far,” Shantal Porter, a sophomore.
Students smashed windows, overturned a vehicle and downed light poles, but a report released on Wednesday finally showed the full financial cost of the damage.
“I didn’t know people were going to start flipping cars and ripping light posts out of the ground,” said Daniel Laudati, a senior. “The battering ram through the student union was crazy.”
The total cost of the damage was $87,779.87 over what the university’s usual budget is for damage and replacements, according to data released by Connecticut Comptroller Sean Scanlon. That amount is directly connected to the damage following the national win.
“Through this number, I think it’s important for us to see the full scale of that, and so that people know going forward that incidents like that are costly and never okay,” said Scanlon.
In total, state agencies saw $99,000 in losses — with the damage to UConn campus making up $87,779.87 of that.
This is the comptroller’s first annual loss report, which he said is aimed at creating more transparency and more accountability.
The number has students concerned.
“I’m concerned if tuition’s going to be increased as a result of that,” said Bryan Ford, a junior.
The state comptroller is hoping by shining a light on the losses it will help save money.
“This is real dollars,” Scanlon said. “This came from real people so we need to find ways to avoid doing that in the future.”
Multiple students have been charged and expelled as a result of the damage, according to previous statements from police and the university.