Geno Auriemma has built Connecticut into a powerhouse for women’s basketball with 11 national championships, and his legacy will continue for at least another five years.
Auriemma signed a five-year contract extension this week to remain as the Huskies coach, which means he could potentially retire at the end of the deal when he is 75 years old. Auriemma will celebrate his 40th anniversary at UConn in the 2024–25 season when the Huskies will be one of the favorites to win their first title since 2016.
The 2024–25 season will be the 70-year-old Auriemma’s 40th season at UConn.
The new contract extension runs through April 2029 and is valued at $18.7 million over the five-year term, according to UConn athletic officials. The deal includes the opportunity to earn additional compensation in the form of performance-based incentives.
Auriemma will receive a base salary of $400,000 per year and an additional compensation for speaking, consulting, and media obligations of $2.94 million for the 2024–25 season, which increases by $200,000 each year through the term of the contract.
“Geno has been such a mainstay at UConn that it’s impossible to overstate his lasting positive influence on our student-athletes, the women’s basketball program, and Connecticut as a whole,” UConn President Radenka Maric said in a statement.
“His leadership and nearly 40 years of commitment to our university have brought immeasurable value and name recognition to both UConn and the entire state,” he continued.
“We know he has even more to demonstrate and teach all of us in the years ahead—not only about leading a world-class basketball program, but also about living a life of conviction, compassion, and service. The university is fortunate to have him continue in this role, and we look forward to the successes ahead under his strong leadership,” he added.
The Huskies have a deep and talented roster capable of competing for their 12th national title in the 2024–25 season, with the return of former Player of the Year Paige Bueckers for her redshirt senior season. UConn is also adding Sarah Strong, who is the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2024 and rounds out the No. 2-ranked recruiting class for the year.
This past season, UConn went 33–6 and 18–0 in the Big East. The Huskies advanced to their 23rd Final Four appearance and 15th in 16 years, where they lost to Iowa and Player of the Year Caitlin Clark 71–69 in a tightly contested game. UConn trailed 70–66 before Nika Muhl hit a 3-pointer after a steal with 39.3 seconds left to get the Huskies within one. Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke turned it over with 10 seconds left. UConn had a chance to take the lead, but Aaliyah Edwards was called for a controversial offensive foul while setting a screen with 4.6 seconds left, and the Hawkeyes escaped with the victory.
Auriemma is set to become Division I college basketball’s winningest coach this season. He currently has 1,213 career wins, three fewer than Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, who retired this offseason.
Auriemma has made his mark as one of the most successful basketball coaches in the history of college basketball during his long tenure at Connecticut, where he has led the Huskies to unprecedented success.
Auriemma joined UConn before the 1985–86 season and took a program with just one winning season to its current level of success, which includes the 11 NCAA Championships, 23 Final Fours, six perfect seasons, and 59 conference championships.
He was a 2006 inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. In addition, Auriemma became just the fourth women’s basketball coach to reach 1,000 career wins, reaching that milestone on Dec. 19, 2017. He was the fastest coach to reach the mark in his 1,135th career game and owns the best win percentage in the sport (.883).
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 17 times.
Under Auriemma, 26 Huskies have been selected as WBCA All-Americans, for a total of 46 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 has appeared in a record 14 consecutive Final Fours from 2008 to 2022.
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 losing a game in conference play. Under Auriemma, UConn has swept both conference titles in the same year 22 times, and 25 Huskies have been named conference Player of the Year.
In addition, 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.
