UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma once detailed what has made his 40-year tenure with his program worthwhile. During his acceptance speech in the celebration of his record-breaking 1,217th win as a college basketball coach in Nov. 2024, Auriemma started by explaining how his 40-year partnership with associate coach Chris Dailey came about.
Auriemma then claimed that there was no planning involved in how he and Dailey were able to churn out a four-decade-long successful program for the Huskies. But Auriemma did admit that staying at UConn has been worth it, especially since he became the winningest collegiate hoops coach last year.
“I’ve asked her earlier how to explain, you know, all these 40 years and everything that went into the 40 years, and it’s not possible, obviously, in a short amount of time to go over all the things that went into having this happen. We never sat down and said, ‘Hey, let’s make a plan. Let’s make a 40-year plan, and let’s see if we can make this happen.’ Like D said, and Sue said, and Maya said, it’s about just coming here every day and trying to be better than we were yesterday,” Auriemma explained (3:07).
“The frustrations that go along with that, and the fun things that go along with that. When you see players get better, when you see them do things that they didn’t think they could do, when you see them cut down a net because they just won a national championship, it’s the things that they ended up getting when they came here that made it worthwhile to keep staying here,” Auriemma added (3:49).
Later in the campaign, which was the 2024-25 season, Auriemma and the Huskies won their 12th national championship after they toppled the 2024 national champions, the South Carolina Gamecocks, by 23 points, 82-59.
UConn finished the year with an overall record of 37-3 (18-0 Big East), and won both the conference regular season title and the conference tournament championship.
Read More: “I Wasn’t Going To Say No”: When Geno Auriemma Spoke Out On Meeting Wife Kathy During College Days
Geno Auriemma currently has 1250 wins in his college coaching career
By the end of the recently concluded 2024-25 campaign, coach Geno Auriemma racked up 1250 total wins with the UConn Huskies.
The coach who comes next to him is legendary Stanford Cardinal head Tara VanDerveer, who retired after the 2023-24 season. Auriemma surpassed her on his record-breaking night and now leads by 34. VanDerveer has 1216 total wins to her name.
Also Read: “I Keep Making the Same Mistake”: When Geno Auriemma Reflected on Recruiting Missteps and UConn’s Culture
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