Fans welcome VCU Rams back to Richmond after NCAA tournament

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Proud Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) fans welcomed the Rams men's basketball team back to Richmond on Sunday, March 22, after they returned from the NCAA Division I basketball tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.

The Rams were embraced after they fell in the tournament's second round against the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday. Fans met with the team's buses as soon as they arrived at VCU's Basketball Development Center on W. Marshall Street on Sunday afternoon.

"Just watching the team get off was amazing," VCU fan Karli Southall said. "They just grew over the season. Michael Belle and Terrence Hill [Jr.]: You could just see the progress in them."

Sunday's return capped a memorable season for the Rams: 28 wins, an Atlantic 10 Conference championship and the program's 21st appearance in the NCAA tournament, also known as "The Big Dance."

After an upset with the basketball powerhouse North Carolina Tar Heels in the tournament's first round on Thursday and coming back from a 19-point deficit, the Rams became one of only 32 teams in the entire country to advance. Fans believed it deserved a curtain call.

"Proud of y'all! Really proud!" said one fan, as others and the team exchanged fist pumps off the bus.

Rams Men's Basketball Chief of Staff Brendan Phelps said, "I'm really grateful for all of you," to fans after they arrived in Richmond.

Phelps says he's proud of the team for reaching the NCAA tournament, and said 2026 will not be the last time we hear of the Rams.

"We're certainly not satisfied. We didn't go to Greenville to win one game. We're really proud of what we put together here, but we're hungry for more," Phelps said. "We'll get right back to it and start working on '26-'27."