Legendary college basketball coach Geno Auriemma is considered one of the winningest coaches in college basketball, having coached the UConn Huskies since 1985. He won his 12th and latest NCAA national title last April, and this has many asking, after 40 years as the head coach of UConn, is it finally time for him to retire soon?
During the Big East Energy Network’s “The Hoops Cap” podcast, hosts Mark Zanetto and Tee Baker discussed the incoming 2025-2026 season, with them predicting that the Huskies under Auriemma will do well, especially as this is now his 40th season as head coach.
If the Huskies go back-to-back this year, this would be Auriemma’s 13th NCAA national championship, and should that happen, Mark Zanetto states that this may be the time that Auriemma finally decides to hang it up and retire. He said (27:05):
“It’s like ‘Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter because it’s going to be the final chapter for Geno. Like, this era is his last run, right you know? How old is Geno? 71, 72? Is he older than that? 75? I don’t know. Is he gonna coach until he’s 80? I I don’t feel like Geno is gonna coach, but I’m gonna say ‘Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.'”
Meanwhile, Tee Baker noted that this season’s UConn lineup is going to be “scary hour” and it would be very much possible for them to give Geno that championship and maybe after that, he may finally hang up his boots and retire from coaching.
Geno Auriemma Talks About Still Coaching at 71 After Winning Natty
Auriemma is now 71 and won that 12th national title at that age. The legendary coach has admitted that he had thought about retirement multiple times but always found reasons to stay.
The UConn legend then spoke about still coaching college basketball at his age shortly after winning Title #12:
“We all feel our age at some point,” he said. “We don’t like to admit that we’re older because we still act younger because of the people that we’re dealing with. A lot of my friends that are my age that haven’t done what I’ve done with who I’ve done it with … they look way older, act way older because they’ve lost the ability to be a kid because they’re not around kids.”
“So, yeah, I may be 71 number-wise, but I think otherwise I’m more able to do stuff with those young people because I’m around them every day and they rub off on me,” he added.
Auriemma, an Italian immigrant, holds the record for the most national championship wins for any college head coach at 12 wins. He also has a record 19 undefeated conference seasons and six perfect seasons. After winning his 12th title in April, he also became the oldest coach to win a national championship.
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