STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Geno Auriemma became the winningest coach in NCAA college basketball history, earning his 1,217th victory as No. 2 UConn beat Fairleigh Dickinson 85-41 on Wednesday night.
Auriemma broke a tie with retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer for the most victories all-time. Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski holds the men’s record with 1,202. Auriemma began his journey with UConn in 1985 and is 1,217-162 in his career. He has only had one losing season — his first one with the Huskies.
The Huskies (4-0) celebrated Auriemma and associated head coach Chris Dailey‘s 40 years at the school with more than 60 alums, including former UConn greats Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Rebecca Lobo in attendance.
Arriving to Storrs prior to the 1985-86 season, Auriemma has taken a program with just one winning season to its current state, which includes 11 NCAA Championships, 23 Final Fours, six perfect seasons and 59 conference championships.
Auriemma has been named Naismith National Coach of the Year eight times, AP National Coach of the Year nine times, WBCA National Coach of the Year seven times and conference coach of the year 16 times.
Under Auriemma, 27 Huskies have been selected as WBCA All-Americans for 48 total recognitions while a Husky has been named National Player of the Year 14 times.
He is the first coach in women’s basketball history to guide a team to five consecutive Final Four appearances on two separate occasions and set a record with 14 consecutive Final Fours from 2008-22.
Off the court, the Huskies boast a perfect 100 percent graduation rate among four-year student-athletes while regularly participating in community service and outreach.
As members of the American Athletic Conference from 2013-20, UConn won the league’s regular season and tournament titles in each season while not dropping a game in conference play. UConn has swept both conference titles in the same year 22 times under Auriemma and a total of 25 Huskies have been named conference player of the year.
Auriemma served as head coach of the U.S. Women’s National team for eight years, leading Team USA to the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medals. He also led the United States to gold in the 2010 and 2014 FIBA World Championships.
Auriemma is a 1981 graduate of West Chester with a bachelor of arts in political science. He and his wife, Kathy, have three children and four grandchildren.
