Our basketball players are French champions!

The project launched at the start of the year by our director, Isabelle Massa-Turpin was to take part in the French IUT championships!

The tournament organized by the Ligue Nouvelle Aquitaine du Sport Universitaire and the La Rochelle IUT brought together several disciplines: men's and women's 8-a-side soccer, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's volleyball, rugby and handball.

After presenting the project to the students, a basketball team was formed under the leadership of Stephan Houvenaghel, the IUT's administrative and financial manager, but also a basketball coach. Accompanied and supported by UPHF's Sports Department, training slots were made available on the Mont Houy campus.

All levels were accepted before selection for the January qualifiers.

After a first match against Lille won easily, a team spirit emerged

The team is made up of students from different departments: GIM, TC Valenciennes, TC Cambrai and GEA. Three campuses are thus represented by students who didn't know each other and who were also discovering what the IUT had to offer. A real unifying spirit was created around the IUT.

On March 11 and 12, our basketball players took to the road in the direction of La Rochelle, with three pool matches on the program, followed by either a semi-final or classification matches.

The first day recorded a loss to Nantes (who will finish 3ᵉ of the tournament), leading our students to win against La Rochelle (victory obtained) and then against Tarbes. Before this final pool match, three teams were tied and could qualify: Tarbes, Nantes and Valenciennes.

It was necessary to win by a minimum of 4 points to qualify: objective achieved thanks to a 3-point shot in the last seconds.

Move on to the semi-finals against Quimper, perhaps the most accomplished match, won without shaking and offering a place in the final against Metz. In the final, our students faced a tough team and responded in the best possible way to claim the title of French champion!

The initial objective was to participate... our students return with a national title.

Congratulations to them and their coach, and thanks to the UPHF Sports Department for their support and guidance!

These sports meetings are part of an agreement signed on June 13, 2024, between the Assembly of IUT Directors and the French University Sports Federation,