The University of Connecticut is hoping its basketball success will carry over within the legislature.  

Specifically, the varsity is in search of $100 million bonding for enhancements to Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, the on-campus residence of the boys’s and ladies’s basketball groups.  

“I think they’ll have a certain sway with the legislature if I had to make a guess, I also think you’re also going to be maybe in a good position to raise some private money,” Gov. Ned Lamont mentioned when requested in regards to the request Wednesday.  

The request is a part of UConn’s hopes of securing $650 million in further bonding over the subsequent 5 years, with a lot of the funding meant to proceed build up the campus.  

Lawmakers from either side say they help the plan.  

“I don’t want anyone to think that if we don’t win a national title, the state’s going to abandon UConn, because that’s not going to happen,” Rep. Matt Ritter (D – House Speaker) mentioned.  

Other tasks within the plan embody a brand new life sciences constructing and renovations to improve present buildings.  

The $100 million for Gampel would roughly match the $107 in bonding lawmakers permitted for updates to Hartford’s XL Center.  

The funding additionally reignites debate about the place UConn ought to play its residence video games, although.  

“We can’t drag down their program by having them try to help the XL Center,” Rep. Vincent Candelora (R – Minority Leader) mentioned.  

Separately, lawmakers wish to change state legislation so followers can guess on UConn and different Connecticut collegiate groups.  

State legislation at present prevents betting on native collegiate groups, with exceptions for sure promotions on groups to win a match.  

A sweeping invoice on sports activities betting legal guidelines features a change to permit bets on recreation outcomes for these groups, together with how a lot they should win by.  

The invoice would nonetheless not enable bets on native particular person participant stats, also called proposition – or prop – bets.  

“I suspect you’ll see allowing betting on UConn for spread purposes,” Ritter mentioned, noting residents can already make those self same bets by crossing into any neighboring state.  

UConn is impartial on the invoice. The Connecticut State College and University system mentioned it’s nonetheless reviewing the invoice.  

Quinnipiac declined to remark, whereas Yale University didn’t reply to a request for remark.  

Others are against the change.  

“Gov. Ned Lamont is one of the UConn Huskies’ biggest fans but he agrees with Connecticut’s Higher Education leaders that residents here should not be able to bet on UConn games,” Julia Bergman, a spokeswoman for the governor, mentioned.  

The NCAA is asking states that enable sports activities betting to ban prop bets after a number of high-profile incidents.  

The NCAA imposed a 15-year present trigger penalty – primarily a ban – in February on former University of Alabama baseball coach Brad Bohannon for his involvement in a betting scandal.  

Then in March, a playing watchdog alerted sportsbooks after suspicious exercise involving Temple University males’s basketball video games.  

“I really would like to make sure that we have the proper guardrails on this before we continue this expansion,” Candelora, additionally an opponent, mentioned.  

Ritter, although, mentioned safeguards are in place. He famous the suspicious bets in these high-profile incidents have been positioned at authorized sportsbooks and observed by watchdogs.