Geno Auriemma has been a stalwart of women’s college basketball for four decades, achieving success most coaches could only dream of.
In 1985 he took over a UConn program with just one winning season and has since led it to 11 NCAA Division I titles – the most in NCAA history.
He also has the most wins of any NCAA head coach after surpassing Tara VanDerveer last November. But the fire inside the 70-year-old remains as fierce as when he first arrived in Storrs 40 years ago, as his Huskies beat defending champions South Carolina 87-58 on the road last weekend.
On the latest episode of “The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show,” Auriemma joined Zena Keita, Chantel Jennings and Sabreena Merchant to chart how the game has changed over his four decades at the top. Below are a few highlights from the conversation, you can listen to the full interview on the podcast feed.
A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on “The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show” feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Jennings: I’m curious looking at the current state of women’s college basketball and the changes that we’ve seen in the last few years. How would 2025 Geno Auriemma explain the college basketball landscape to the 1985 Geno, who…
