Legendary UW women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma made history Wednesday night in the Huskies' victory over Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Auriemma passed legendary Stanford Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer with her 1,217th victory, making her the all-time leader in wins for both men and women in college basketball history.
More than 60 former players were part of a sold-out crowd at Gampel Pavilion to watch the Huskies defeat the Knights, 85-41. Even though UW is the heavy favorite in this matchup, Auriemma continued to coach until the final buzzer, as he had done in his previous 1,216 wins.
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Connecticut Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma reacts during the first quarter of the 2024 NCAA Tournament Final Four semifinal against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)
The game also celebrated Auriemma and associate head coach Chris Daley's 40th season leading the Huskies. It's part of a celebration that includes a goat petting zoo near the arena during Fan Fest, a nod to Auriemma being the greatest of all time.
While the night was meant to honor Auriemma and Daley, the record-setting win also reflected on how dominant his program has been in college competitions over the years.
Geno Auriemma achieves No. 1 coaching record in Division I2 Yukon defeats NO.14 UNC 69-58
The Huskies have 11 national championships and 23 Final Four appearances, 15 of which have come in the last 16 years.
Auriemma's career winning percentage of .882 remains an NCAA record.
“Initially, we really had a vision and just said to each other, 'This is what we're going to do,'” Daly said via ESPN on Tuesday. “And we were able to convince enough people to believe in the same dream. And finally, 40 years later, much more has happened than we ever thought possible. .”
Paige Bakkers and head coach Geno Auriemma of the Connecticut Huskies during the first half of the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at Moda Center on March 30, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Auriemma coached at only one school, building a team over the decades at Storrs that gained national recognition as a powerhouse. Since winning the team's first national title under coach Auriemma in 1995, UConn has been a powerhouse every season.
Auriemma, 70, still wants to coach the Huskies, although he admits that at times he felt stepping back was the right thing to do.
“As long as I'm here and I walk in this building and I look at the players here and the people who work in my little world and how we inspire each other. “There's no other place I'd rather be, as long as I look at what I want to be,” he said.
Connecticut Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma celebrates after his team's 80-73 victory over the USC Trojans in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on April 1, 2024. . (Im Soobun/Getty Images)
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UW remains undefeated at 4-0 to begin the 2024-25 season.
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