Geno Auriemma has built the UConn program into a perennial powerhouse, and on Wednesday night he became the winningest coach in NCAA Women’s Basketball history.
UConn defeated Fairleigh Dickinson by a score of 85-41 on Wednesday at Gampel Pavilion, led by Sarah Strong‘s 20 points. Over 60 alumni were in attendance to witness history.
The win was Auriemma’s 1,217th of his career, passing legendary Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, who retired from coaching at the end of last season following a 45-year run, including 38 seasons with the Cardinal.
“It’s always special. Everything about Connecticut basketball is special. The crowd tonight and the fanbase. Our former players, everyone here just treats it, unlike any other place in the country,” Auriemma told SNY’s Chelsea Sherrod after the win. “To be able to have that accomplishment here, you can’t ask for a better scenario.”
VanDerveer sent congratulations to Auriemma and longtime assistant Chris Dailey on the accomplishment.
“This is yet another outstanding milestone in a career filled with them,” she said in a statement. “The level of success he has maintained at UConn over four decades will never be duplicated. But his tremendous legacy extends far beyond any number of wins. It lives in the lives of the countless young women he has positively influenced throughout his career.”
Auriemma’s resume, even without the wins record, was already enough to see him inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. He’s led the Huskies to an incredible 11 National Championships, 23 Final Fours, and 28 regular season conference championships. He’s also an eight-time Naismith Coach of the Year Award winner.
Born in Italy and raised in the Philadelphia suburbs, Auriemma began coaching at the high school level in 1977, landing his first collegiate job as an assistant at St. Joseph’s in 1978. He eventually landed the UConn head coaching job in 1985, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Auriemma also has five Gold Medals to his name (three Olympic, two FIBA World Championships), and is undoubtedly one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time.
