Students at Duquesne University were gifted a treat on Thursday, with their basketball team coming away with a shocking upset victory over BYU in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament. And in celebratory fashion, one Duquesne professor decided to gift his students an added bonus.
Duquesne has had a pretty rough stretch of recent history when it comes to college basketball. In fact, the program hadn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 1969, with their last NCAA Tournament appearance coming back in 1977
That all changed on Thursday with their win over BYU, making for a moment that certainly hasn’t come around all that often for the Duquesne faithful in attendance for the game.
🚨NCAA TOURNAMENT UPSET ALERT🚨
DUQUESNE TAKES DOWN BYU IN THE FIRST ROUND!
The Dukes were 9.5-point underdogs. 🏀🔥 #MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/rwUQPmizt3
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 21, 2024
Naturally, the vibes around Duquesne’s campus are at perhaps an all-time high at the moment. This led to Robert Edward Healy III, a Sports Information and Media professor at Duquesne, taking to social media to share an email he was sending to his students that he was canceling classes for the day.
“Go celebrate,” Healy wrote in the email.
#MarchMadness #ShooShooRahRah pic.twitter.com/ctfq73QszG
— Robert Edward Healy, III (@blufftalk) March 21, 2024
Naturally, many college basketball fans praised this professor for allowing his students to enjoy the full college experience outside of the classroom with this big win.
LOVE THIS#MarchMadnessBracket #ThisIsMarch
— The Ball Street Journal (@W3KNOWBALL) March 21, 2024
This is a man for the people
— Ezekiel M. Daure (@ezekielmdaure) March 21, 2024
The teacher everyone wants to have.
— A Bag of Groceries 🩷💜💙 (@Bag0fGroceries) March 21, 2024
Love it Prof! #GoDukes
— Casey Chafin (@Caseychafin) March 21, 2024
Healy probably knew that given the circumstances, he probably wouldn’t have had that many students in class even if he hadn’t canceled. Personally, I know that I probably wouldn’t want to be sitting in class instead of celebrating my school’s awesome accomplishment.
At the end of the day, your relationship with your students as a professor is everything. And it is safe to say that this professor in particular gained a bit of respect from his students for this incredibly classy gesture.