Geno Auriemma had a rough first year at the University of Connecticut in 1985. He took the reigns of a program at a school that didn’t give women’s sports many resources and a team that had losing records 10 of the last 11 years he was there.
Geno Auriemma went 12-15 in 1985. That was the last time Auriemma saw a losing record under his watch en route to becoming one of the most popular figures in women’s basketball.
His Huskies went 12-15 that year. That was the last time Auriemma saw a losing record under his watch en route to becoming one of the most popular figures in women’s basketball.
Geno Auriemma:
-Will turn 59 years old on Saturday
-Born in Montella, Italy — Moved to the United States when he was 7 years old
-Graduated from West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 1977
-Became American citizen in 1994
-First job in basketball was at St. Joseph’s in 1978
-Hired at UConn in 1985, when Huskies had losing seasons 10 of the last 11 seasons
-24 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances
-Has 13 appearances in the Final Four, and hasn’t failed to make it there since 2007
-Has seven national championships
-90 straight wins from April 6, 2008 to Dec. 30, 2010 is most of any coach in women’s college basketball history
-833-132 record, best win percentage of active coaches
-Enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006
-Head coach of the 2012 gold medal winning United States women’s team
-Has his own line of fine Italian wines — Retails for about $10 per bottle
-Follow on twitter — @GenoAuriemma