Before Kansas cut down the nets after Monday night’s 72–69 victory over UNC in the men’s national championship game, NCAA president Mark Emmert congratulated the Jayhawks on a job well done during the trophy presentation.
Unfortunately, he made a fairly significant mistake when wrapping up his speech. When announcing the new national champions, Emmert introduced the program as the “Kansas City Jayhawks.”
Emmert quickly corrected the gaffe, but received a rather confused reaction from the crowd in the Caesars Superdome. An even stronger reaction broke out on social media as college basketball fans and media members couldn’t believe that the NCAA president managed to botch the name of one of the sport’s most storied programs.
Despite Emmert’s blunder, Kansas managed to steal the show in New Orleans, overcoming the largest deficit in national championship game history to win the program’s fourth title and second under coach Bill Self. Star guard Ochai Agbaji earned NCAA tournament MOP honors after scoring 12 points and grabbing down three rebounds in Monday’s win.
