In April of 2024, the UConn Huskies were eliminated from March Madness by coach Lisa Bluder’s Iowa Hawkeyes. Head coach Geno Auriemma and the Huskies’ goal of winning a 12th national championship was put to rest by the Hawkeyes, who won the game 71-69.
During the post-game press conference, Auriemma was asked about the standard of the overall UConn program and if the expectations for them, at that time, should be different, given their previous shortcomings. The now 71-year-old had responded by shutting down the narratives circling the Huskies’ potential decline.
“The expectation at UConn are what they are because we created them, you know, somebody didn’t walk in our building and say, ‘Okay, this is what’s expected of you.’ We put that on ourselves now for the last 30 years,” Auriemma said.
Auriemma added that he was irritated by narratives that put the Huskies down and questioned their prowess whenever they didn’t win a national championship.
“What pisses me off is that the minute we don’t win a national championship for a couple of years, people think that our program, now, is less worthy of some other that have done it twice or have gone to the Final Four three out of the last four years,” he explained.
“I think it’s more rewarding on my end, not just to win a national championship, obviously, you want to win a national championship every year. But People should talk about their own accomplishments instead of talking about what we’re not accomplishing. That seems to be the big story,” Auriemma added.
The Huskies finished their 2023-24 campaign with an overall record of 33-6 (18-0, Big East) while the Hawkeyes lost the 2024 National Championship game to head coach Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks by 12 points, 87-75. Fortunately for Auriemma and company, the narratives surrounding their alleged decline were put to a halt in the 2024-25 season.
This is because coach Auriemma and his UConn program won the 2025 national title after defeating the defending champions, the Gamecocks, in the NCAA Championship game with a 23-point victory, 82-59. The Huskies finished their 2024-25 season with an overall record of 37-3 (18-0, Big East) and were back on the college basketball mountaintop.
When UConn Huskies Snapped a Nine-Year National Title Drought
Before 2025, the last time that head coach Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies won a national championship was nine years earlier, in 2016, which was also the last chip in their illustrious four-peat in the 2010s.
They now enter the 2025-26 season with aspirations of yet another NCAA title repeat, similar to what they did the last time they won it.
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in football, basketball, and more!
