Saint Peter's Basketball Team To Get A NJ Parade, Mayor Says

JERSEY CITY, NJ — As the Saint Peter's University men's basketball team marked the end of its underdog run in the NCAA championships, the mayor announced Sunday night that the city will have a parade to honor the local heroes.

[UPDATE: The parade will likely be held Friday; see more details here.]

After the No. 15-seeded Peacocks lost their Elite 8 matchup against the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels, Mayor Steven Fulop wrote on Facebook, "Today's game changes very little for us. We couldn't be prouder + we'll 100 percent do a parade/keys to the city for this team to say THANK YOU properly from all of us in #JerseyCity + NJ. You showed the best of our city to the world."

The mayor has not yet announced a date for the parade, and the city's spokesperson has not yet responded to a question about it. But Patch will post details when they're available.

Saint Peter's alums and sports fans responded to the mayor's pronouncement by saying the team made them proud. "I'm so happy to hear, these young men and their coach deserve to be honored and celebrated they contribution to Saint Peter’s University," said one woman. "This makes them legend for me and I'm a proud student of Saint Peter’s University."

"The team comes out of nowhere and captures the heart of the nation," a man remarked. "This was like Rocky and Rudy on steroids."

Meanwhile, among other news in the wake of Sunday's game, Saint Peter's basketball coach Shaheen Holloway may become the next head basketball coach at Seton Hall, according to reports. Ryan Whalen might move up to fill his shoes at Saint Peter's.

Watch Patch for updates and comment below.

Learn more about the team and the school here.

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