It is not often that someone, let alone multiple people, get recognized both before and after a game in any sport. Prior to tip-off at Gampel Pavilion Wednesday night, UConn celebrated Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey’s 40th anniversary coaching the program.
The postgame ceremony, which followed the No. 2 UConn women’s basketball team’s 85-41 win over the FDU Knights, contained much more fanfare. Auriemma invited and high-fived four students who had letters spelling “Geno” painted on their chests, then sent them all back. A goat walked on the red carpet, leading to a fiery social post from PETA on X three days later.
But before any of that happened, four of the nine-time AP Coach of the Year’s former players spoke about their teacher’s newest achievement.
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Only 63 former Huskies could make the event. Swin Cash serves as the vice president of basketball operations with the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans. Shea Ralph and Katie Lou Samuelson are both part of Vanderbilt’s coaching staff. Tamika Williams-Jeter and Carla Berube run the show at Dayton and Princeton, respectively. Kara Wolters was in the SNY studios doing the pregame and postgame show.
The list keeps going, but it made perfect sense that the alumni spoke before Auriemma did on Wednesday. After all, the three-time Olympic gold medalist never necessarily views himself as the main character.
“There are really 160 stories that can explain how this all happened,” Auriemma explained. “Some of it is a nightmare. Some of it is a fairytale.”
Regardless of how each individual views their time in Storrs, the 20-time Big East Tournament champion gave each player he ever coached an opportunity. The university took that chance when they hired Auriemma and Dailey back in 1985.
While the risk led to previously unfathomable rewards, that alone does not fully describe the Huskies’ prominence.
“What makes this place special is the fact that you two believed in each other,” 2025 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Sue Bird said. “You two had a belief. You two had a vision of what could be, and the special sauce of it all is that it was never about any of this.”
What the four-time WNBA champion learned in the Nutmeg State resonated with her throughout her professional career. To Bird, it was incredibly simple.
“Get better every day. That is what you taught all of us,” the five-time Olympic gold medalist noted. “Who knew that playing hard, playing smart and having fun would get you here? But I guess you two knew, and that is all that matters.”
Sharing some common fundamentals can lead to relationships. Those relationships can create a family-like atmosphere. That is one of the reasons Sarah Strong committed to UConn over UNC and Duke in April. Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Maya Moore-Irons found it when she arrived in Storrs in 2007.
“You cannot make up family. Family is fought for; family is forged,” the three-time Big East Player of the Year expressed. “I am so grateful to be a part of this Husky family. One of the things that separates [Auriemma] and CD is their faithfulness to come and be fully present—sometimes too present—and just giving us all that we have.”
For Moore-Irons, that support led to an unbreakable bond. Like any family, however, there may be times when that relationship could anger someone. Feeling those emotions only makes a person stronger while growing their maturity.
“[Auriemma and Dailey] help take that pressure off, but then they also can crank it back up, just in that right time,” the 2014 WNBA MVP stated. “We graduate, and we feel prepared to go out in the world. I do not know where I would be if I did not have a chance to be shaped in my young adulthood by you two.”
That positive influence did not just affect Moore-Irons, Bird, Breanna Stewart or even Paige Bueckers. Basketball Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo summarized the reputation Auriemma built with that support network from a broad perspective.
“This is a program that has been built on celebrating teams; celebrating one another and never celebrating yourself.”
11 different Connecticut teams have captured a national title. 23 have reached the Final Four. No player on the current roster was born when the Huskies won their first two national championships. Yet Lobo sees something that connects today’s players with those that won that first title three decades ago.
“The one common thread that all of the players have here is that we are part of at least one win for coach Auriemma. The common thread for all of the people that are watching in the stands is that you were able to watch at least one of the 1,217,” the Hartford native highlighted. “That one thread will go through us and unite us forever.”
Sticking together helped UConn pull off their first undefeated season in 1995. It also assisted the Huskies when they twice silenced the doubters in 2003 and 2004.
WNBA all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi picked up something else along the way, though.
“You told me all of the things I needed to hear to make me a better person, a better teammate, a better basketball player,” Taurasi commented. “All of those things, day by day, week by week, month by month, you start building this confidence that you can be a better person every single day.”
Former players almost always acknowledge their influential coaches whenever they leave a team where they made a significant impact. Auriemma, college basketball’s winningest coach, returned that favor after four of his former players shared their remarks.
The 11-time national champion’s career has involved toppling several records. Lobo summarized the appreciation people should have for Auriemma’s latest feat.
“It is not very often in life where you get to experience something that has never been done before,” the 1995 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player said. “It is not very often in life that you get to experience something that will never be done again.”
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