{"id":242179,"date":"2026-03-11T07:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T11:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=242179"},"modified":"2026-03-11T16:17:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T20:17:13","slug":"it-stands-for-excellence-a-conversation-with-uconns-azzi-fudd-and-interim-provost-pamir-alpay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/03\/it-stands-for-excellence-a-conversation-with-uconns-azzi-fudd-and-interim-provost-pamir-alpay\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It Stands for Excellence\u2019 \u2013 A Conversation with UConn\u2019s Azzi Fudd and Interim Provost Pamir Alpay"},"content":{"rendered":"

For UConn women\u2019s basketball standout Azzi Fudd \u201925 (CLAS) \u201926 MBA, learning in school is the same as playing defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s effort,\u201d says Fudd, the recently named 2025-26 BIG EAST Women\u2019s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year<\/a>. \u201cWhat you put in is what you\u2019re going to get out.\u201d<\/p>\n

A star on the court and in the classroom, Fudd came to UConn from her hometown in Arlington, Virginia, with more on her mind than just college hoops. She came with ambition that went well beyond basketball \u2013 something that she says is embodied by what it means to be a Husky.<\/p>\n

\"A
Azzi Fudd ’25 (CLAS) ’26 MBA poses for a photo with UConn Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Pamir Alpay in his office on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Sydney Herdle\/UConn Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen you come to a university like UConn, when you are wearing UConn across your chest, it stands for excellence,\u201d says Fudd. \u201cIt stands for greatness. And that shouldn\u2019t only mean on the field, on the court, on the ice, wherever you play, but it should also be included in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she didn\u2019t initially know what she wanted to study, she knew she wanted to complete two degrees \u2013 one undergraduate and one graduate \u2013 in four years. Coming to UConn with an open mind, and no prior academic credits, Fudd found her way to UConn\u2019s Communication program through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences<\/a> and completed an ambitious program of study to earn her bachelor’s degree in 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back, it was hard,\u201d she says. \u201cI took classes each summer, and in the fall and spring. I was always taking classes.\u201d<\/p>\n

After finding herself really engaged in a finance class intended to help student-athletes understand the intricacies of NIL, Fudd opted to follow up her undergraduate work with a Master of Business Administration from the UConn School of Business<\/a>, which she\u2019s slated to complete this spring.<\/p>\n

But putting two intensive degree programs under her belt, on top of an NCAA championship and multiple career honors – including the 2025 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, and more than 1,000 career points – doesn\u2019t come without a lot of hard work \u2013 or without a little bit of support along the way.<\/p>\n

Days after her BIG EAST recognition, and with the Huskies clinching their sixth consecutive Big East conference title on the road to 2026’s March Madness, Fudd sat down with Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Pamir Alpay<\/a> to talk about her off-the-court UConn success story \u2013 and the helping hands she had at UConn during her journey to \u201cdouble Husky\u201d status.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Pamir<\/strong>: On the basketball court, there\u2019s a team around you. But you have a team around you as well on the academic side. Can you talk about that just a little bit, and about how they had your back as you were going through all these classes?<\/p>\n

Azzi<\/strong>: Yeah, 100%. I mean Ellen [Tripp, director of UConn\u2019s Student-Athlete Success Program<\/a>] has been\u2026<\/p>\n

Pamir<\/strong>: Just amazing?<\/p>\n

Azzi<\/strong>: Yes. I would not have been able to finish in three years, and then start and almost finish my MBA. I wouldn\u2019t have been able to do any of that without her. She is the best. I can\u2019t brag about her enough. And having someone who knows what\u2019s going on, how to navigate this space, she laid out a plan for me, made it all organized, clear for what I needed to do to graduate, what classes I needed to take.<\/p>\n

And like you said, you have a team, you\u2019ve got to communicate. Being an athlete, you have to communicate with professors all the time about missing class, traveling, practice times, whatever it is, rescheduling exams, needing extra work. I would say that I was alright at it. There were time when, you know, I\u2019m a college kid, I\u2019m learning. There were a couple times where I messed up, I didn\u2019t communicate early enough, had some issues. But having Ellen, who just always has your best interests in mind, having her to help me \u2013 I can just go to her office, I messed up, I need help with this, I didn\u2019t communicate early enough, my professor\u2019s mad at me. Just having someone who understands what you\u2019re going through and can help you take a deep breath. It\u2019s going to be ok. It\u2019s not the end of the world, even though it feels like it.<\/p>\n

Pamir<\/strong>: Yeah. It\u2019s really not.<\/p>\n

Azzi<\/strong>: But professors here really, for the most part, have been amazing and super helpful and easy to work with. Even in my grad program, I was nervous about that, because everything is through Zoom and I\u2019m a people person, so I\u2019d rather be in person than through a computer. I\u2019ve been super grateful for how my relationships with my professors have been.<\/p>\n

Pamir<\/strong>: That\u2019s excellent.<\/p>\n

Azzi<\/strong>: And then you add tutors \u2013 the tutors in the program have also been amazing. I haven\u2019t used one in a while, but just having them available to you to get you going at the beginning. I\u2019ve had one for midterms and finals before, and just having that as a resource helps. Sometimes you just need someone to help jog your memory and refresh or reteach you in a different way.<\/p>\n

Pamir<\/strong>: I can\u2019t imagine the transition for you. You come in from high school, you come in and you have to be a student, and then you have the additional duties on you as a student-athlete at the highest level. A lot of people complain about coming from high school to college, you had it even more so with the demands on you, right? So, it was quite challenging, I bet. I\u2019m glad you had that team around you.<\/p>\n

Azzi<\/strong>: Yeah, Ellen and everyone in the program make it as easy as it can be for that transition, because it is a lot all at once. Being on a basketball team, being a student, you\u2019re thrown into these classes. But freshman year for us, you have mandatory study hall, and so that really makes you get your work done. You don\u2019t have a choice. You have to sit there regardless. So you sit there and waste time, or sit there and get your work done. At first, obviously you\u2019re going to complain as a freshman, like why do I have study hall? But that makes you sit down and work and just use your time efficiently.<\/p>\n