Why Bill Murray has prime seats at Final Four in Houston and is rooting for UConn

Matt Young, Staff writer

April 3, 2023

Actor Bill Murray looks on prior to the game between the San Diego State Aztecs and Connecticut Huskies during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament National Championship game at NRG Stadium on April 3, 2023 in Houston.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

There are faces in the NRG Stadium crowd that make sense right away. Kemba Walker, Ray Allen, Emeka Okafor: All former UConn stars. Then, there’s Bill Murray.

The 72-year-old actor and overall funnyman, wearing a Chicago Cubs cap, has had a good seat near the Connecticut bench both nights of the Final Four, and for good reason.  His son Luke Murray is a Huskies assistant coach.

It’s not unusual to see Bill Murray at NCAA Tournament games, because his son has made several successful stops throughout his coaching career. Luke Murray started coaching at Quinnipiac in 2007 and also worked at Post University and Arizona before landing his first fulltime assistant coaching gig at Wagner, which was coached at the time by current UConn head man Dan Hurley. Luke Murray went on to coach at Towson, Xavier, Rhode Island and Louisville before joining Hurley’s Connecticut staff in 2021.

Murray has been present throughout this Huskies’ run, often being shown on camera during the Big East Tournament and then throughout UConn’s march through the NCAA Tournament.

Before Monday night’s championship game against San Diego State, Bill Murray was even at the team’s hotel to see his son and the players off as they headed to the stadium.

Matt Young is a trending sports reporter at the Houston Chronicle.

Matt has been a sports editor/writer at the Chronicle since 2015. He’s proudly from Alief and occasionally sits alone in his four-cornered room staring at candles. Reach him at matt.young@chron.com.