Geno Auriemma became the winningest coach in NCAA basketball history when his Huskies defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in front of a packed Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday.
Auriemma entered the game alongside former Stanford women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer, who surpassed her with her 1,217th win, catapulting her into NCAA women's and men's hoops history at all levels of college basketball.
“This is another outstanding career milestone for Geno Auriemma,” VanDerveer said in a statement after Auriemma broke the record. “The level of success he maintained at UConn for more than 40 years will never be duplicated. But his greatest accomplishments go far beyond the number of wins. in the lives of countless young women.”
Auriemma is the gold standard among college basketball coaches and helped transform the UW women's program into one that other schools are trying to emulate.
The 70-year-old helped lead UConn to 11 NCAA Championships, 23 Final Four appearances and 28 conference titles between the Big East and AAC.
“We never sat down and made a 40-year plan and said, let's see if we can make it happen,” Auriemma said. According to the Associated Press. “It’s about coming here every day and trying to be better than yesterday.”
More than 60 alumni of the basketball program headed to Storrs, Conn., to see history.
Among those who made the trip were women's basketball greats Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Rebecca Lobo.
The day was already a celebration for Auriemma and longtime associate head coach Chris Daly. Both have led the program for 40 years.
“As long as I've been here, walking in this building, looking at the players here, there are people working in my little world and how we inspire each other. I can see what is going on.” Auriemma said, according to ESPN.. “There's no other place I'd rather be.”
The school celebrated the day in a variety of ways, including a petting zoo with goats and the sale of a special ice cream flavor called Legend Berry Legacy.
Auriemma's celebration included an old goat being brought onto the court after the game.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont presented the college coach with a special road sign commemorating his milestone, and an actual goat was brought onto the court.
