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TUCSON - The Arizona Men's Baseball Team arrived to a hero's welcome Tuesday at McKale Center.

The new national champions were greeted with police escorts, a red carpet and thousands of fans.

UA student Ray Francesco braved the hot, humid conditions for the Bat Cats, "and the feeling around here is that they could really do it. They're just driven, nothing is stopping them and I think they went through the entire world series undefeated so it was great."

His friend Richard Pereyda, who waited for more than hour said it was worth it, "I feel that it's really important to show that we support them. And that we're behind them 100 percent and you know school spirit goes a long way."

Inside McKale center fans donned their red and blue caps, t-shirts, signs anxious to greet the team. Derek Bresee, Sr., a UA alum said it was a special occasion for his family, "you know it's been a long time. Arizona has always been a baseball and softball town. Tucson has been anyway, so it's been a long time coming."

At the welcome home ceremony, Jonathan Rothschild, the mayor of Tucson said the city would be renaming the entrance way to Hi Corbett field in honor of the team's victory.