Legendary UConn girls’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma made historical past Wednesday night time with the Huskies’ victory over Fairleigh Dickinson College.
Auriemma turned the all-time wins chief in faculty basketball historical past for each women and men, gathering his 1,217th victory to go Tara VanDerveer, the legendary Stanford Cardinal coach.
Greater than 60 former gamers have been at Gampel Pavilion as a part of a sellout crowd to look at the Huskies take down the Knights, 85-41. Regardless of UConn being a heavy favourite on this matchup, Auriemma went about teaching just like the 1,216 wins earlier than it, till the ultimate buzzer sounded.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Connecticut Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma reacts within the first quarter towards the Iowa Hawkeyes within the semifinals of the Last 4 of the 2024 NCAA Match at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. (Kirby Lee/USA Right now Sports activities)
The sport was additionally a celebration of Auriemma and affiliate head coach Chris Dailey’s fortieth season main the Huskies. It was a part of a celebration that included a goat petting zoo close to the world throughout a fan fest, a reference to Auriemma being the best of all-time.
Whereas the night time was meant to honor Auriemma and Dailey, the win to set the brand new document led to reflection on simply how dominant his program has been at UConn all these years.
GENO AURIEMMA TIES DIVISION I COACHING RECORD AS NO. 2 UCONN BEATS NO. 14 UNC 69-58
The Huskies are 11-time nationwide champions with 23 Last 4 appearances, together with 15 within the final 16 years.
Auriemma’s .882 win proportion for his profession stays an NCAA document as nicely.
“Firstly, we actually simply had our imaginative and prescient and one another to say, ‘That is what we’ll do,'” Dailey mentioned Tuesday, through ESPN. “And we have been in a position to persuade sufficient folks to imagine that very same dream. And, finally, 40 years later, much more has occurred than what we ever thought would have.”
Paige Bueckers and head coach Geno Auriemma of the Connecticut Huskies through the first half towards the Duke Blue Devils within the Candy 16 of the NCAA Match at Moda Middle March 30, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (Steph Chambers/Getty Photos)
Auriemma has solely coached at one college, constructing his squad in Storrs to the purpose it was nationally acknowledged as a powerhouse for many years. After the group’s first nationwide title beneath Auriemma in 1995, UConn was, and nonetheless stays, a powerhouse each season.
Auriemma, 70, nonetheless needs to teach the Huskies regardless of admitting to feeling at occasions it was the appropriate transfer to stroll away.
“So long as I am right here, and I stroll on this constructing, and I see the gamers right here, and I see the folks that work in my little world and the way all of us form of inspire one another, there isn’t any different place I’d wish to be,” he mentioned.
Head coach Geno Auriemma of the Connecticut Huskies celebrates after his group’s 80-73 win towards the USC Trojans within the Elite Eight of the NCAA Match at Moda Middle April 1, 2024, in Portland, Ore. (Soobum Im/Getty Photos)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
UConn stays unbeaten at 4-0 to start out the 2024-25 marketing campaign.
Observe Fox Information Digital’s sports activities protection on X, and subscribe to the Fox Information Sports activities Huddle publication.