SDSU Alumni: An Aztec Final Four Proposal
April 1, 2023, will always be a special day for all San Diego State University fans as Lamont Butler's buzzer-beater sent the Aztecs to the National Championship game. But for Megan Varra ('19) and Cole Larson ('19, '21), the moment will remain memorable for another reason: their proposal.
Varra and Larson, both SDSU alumni, were in awe when SDSU men's basketball defeated Creighton University in the Elite Eight to advance to the men's Final Four. At that moment, the pair knew they needed to be in Houston to watch the game live.
10 minutes later, their tickets were secured, and unknowingly to Varra, Larson began planning his proposal right then and there. After expediting a ring, getting Varra's family's blessing and talking to his family, it was time.
Varra and Larson flew to Houston and attended the game with two other friends, also SDSU alumni. As they all sat in the arena, they watched the most intense two halves unfold.
Not knowing if the Aztecs would pull off the win, the couple, surrounded by fellow SDSU alumni and fans, started screaming and hoping for a win. Following a 14-point comeback and the 2-point jumper by Lamont Butler with no time left on the clock to put the Aztecs' 72 to Florida Atlantic University's 71, the Aztecs won and were advancing to the National Championship. And that's when Larson got down on one knee.
“As the clock hit 0.0 exactly and Lamont Butler's shot went into the net, I turned to my right to see Cole on his knee asking me to marry him,” Varra said. “Once I said yes, we all embraced and cried together while the SDSU fans in the NRG stadium and country were still celebrating the buzzer-beater.”
In true Aztec for life-form, it was two celebrations that night for Varra and Larson, a day they will never forget and a story they will be able to share forever.
University Towers Love Story
Flashback to 2015, when Varra and Larson were first-year students at SDSU, moving into their University Towers dorm. Varra was eager to meet the people on her floor and propped her door open that first day, hoping someone would wander in.
Coincidentally, that someone was none other than Larson, who sat in her room that very first day, and they talked for hours, bonding over their love for sports and common upbringings.
The pair became fast friends and continued to grow their relationship into something more over late-night drives to Pancho's and the 24-hour Starbucks close to campus. Little did Varra know, their meeting wasn't a coincidence after all.
“Cole told me that he saw me and wanted to get to know me the night before we had all met at our floor meeting. He made sure to stop by my room when he saw our door open the next day,” Varra said.
In October 2015, they began officially dating after a first date at Underbelly in North Park. The rest is history.
Time at SDSU and Post Grad
Varra graduated with a B.A. in sociology and a minor in counseling and social change in 2019. Larson got his B.S. in kinesiology pre-physical therapy in 2019 and master's in exercise physiology in 2021.
While at SDSU, they enjoyed hanging out in Love Library and studying together. Varra would grab Chipotle for them both, and they would sit in the same spot on the fourth floor and spend hours talking to each other.
When they weren't studying, Varra was busy being an SDSU Ambassador, and Larson was an employee at Viejas and a member of the Pi Kappa Theta Fraternity. However, their favorite memory comes from their chance to study abroad.
Junior year, Varra and Larson got the opportunity to do a three-week course in Ireland. After missing flights, losing luggage, and borrowing clothes, the pair's relationship grew stronger and stronger.
After graduating, the couple stayed in San Diego and attended many Aztec sporting events. Varra and Larson even helped start an Aztec alumni bowling league with a few other alumni, where every Wednesday, they would go to Aztec Lanes and finish it off at Eureka for Steal a Glass night.
Now Varra and Larson reside in Boulder, Colorado, yet remain die-hard Aztec fans from a thousand miles away. Once an Aztec, always an Aztec.
