"I felt inferior. I grew up scared of everybody": When Geno Auriemma locked in on making UConn the #1 women's basketball program in USA

Geno Auriemma has built the UConn Huskies basketball team from a regional power to a national juggernaut. He became the head coach of the Huskies in 1985 and has guided the team to 11 national championships since then.

When Auriemma won his first national championship a decade into his tenure at UConn in 1985, Pat Summit's Tennessee was the dominant force in women’s basketball. The Lady Vols had won three national titles, the most at the time.

However, he was determined to surpass them. Reflecting on his upbringing, Geno Auriemma said:

"I don't know — all the obvious ones. I'm the oldest, immigrant family, couldn't speak English. I'm Italian, Catholic — hey, that's enough guilt. What more do you need? I felt inferior. I grew up scared of everybody."

"The worst fear of all is fear of failure," Geno added. "The year Jen Rizzotti was a sophomore, I asked her one day what drove her. 'I hate to lose,' she said. I told her, 'You're my point guard, so we'll get to the final eight, maybe the Final Four, but we'll never win till you replace that I hate to lose with I wanna win.'"

"And eventually Jen did, and then we won. But me, I'm still motivated by fear of failure."

Jen Rizzotti was the starting point guard for UConn during their triumphant 1994-95 season, in which the Huskies went 35-0 and won the national championship.

Geno Auriemma's legacy: celebrating 40 years at UConn and becoming the winningest coach

Coach Geno Auriemma recently celebrated his 40th anniversary with the UConn Huskies. Over his tenure, he has led the team to 11 national championships, the most by any coach in NCAA women's basketball history.

Auriemma inherited the program in 1985, which had gone 8-13 and won only three conference games the previous season.

It took him only four years to conquer the Big East, winning the regular season and conference tournament. Since then, except for 1992 and 1993, the Huskies have won the conference title every year, including their brief stint in the American Athletic Conference.

Geno Auriemma and UConn's dominance reached new heights in the 2000s, with the team winning five national championships during this span. They further cemented their legacy by winning four consecutive national titles from 2013 to 2016.

On Nov. 20, 2024, Auriemma notched his 1,217th career win, making him the winningest coach in all of college basketball. He dethroned the legendary Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, who retired after the previous season.