71 year old Geno Auriemma ponders UConn retirement, says he intentionally put it on hold despite peer pressure in 2016

UConn Huskies Geno Auriemma continued to elevate his legacy as one of the greatest coaches of all time after the 83-59 win over South Carolina on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament championship game. This is Auriemma's 12 national title.

During the post-game press conference, Auriemma, who is the winningest coach in women's college basketball, pondered on his potential retirement from the game. He spoke about the advice from his trusted group of friends and family who wanted him to step down after UConn's fourth-straight national championship win in 2016.

"They were hoping that after the Stewie fourth in a row that I should've called it a day back then," Geno Auriemma said. "That would've been pretty apropo, I guess, ride off onto the sunset with Stewie and Tuck and Ry and those guys."

However, the years after the championship were tough for UConn as the team struggled with injuries and near-misses.

"It's not like it was extra motivation, but it just happened to coincide, you know, the last five years with the pandemic, the bubble, the injuries; and I just kept thinking, 'You know, I kind of owe it to these people to kind of let me see if we can take a whole team what could happen,'" he said.

In the last three seasons, the Huskies' struggles were immense as stars like Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and more sustained back-to-back injuries and were sidelined for entire seasons. Last year was the hardest of all as UConn had six players on the sidelines.

"Cause these people that have been playing against us for the last seven, eight years have not played against the University of Connecticut team. Yet, beating UConn always seemed like the national championship to them. For us, it always seemed like if we ever get a chance to get healthy, this could be pretty good," " he explained. (19:25)

"So, it coincided with Paige's journey. So, my journey became hers in so many words."

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Geno Auriemma is still under contract until the 2028-2029 season

In May 2024, it was reported that Geno Auriemma signed a five-year contract extension with the UConn Huskies that will pay him around $18.7 million until the 2028-2029 season. As retirement looms over the legendary coach's mind, his current contract will definitely be a factor given the bonuses he'll be getting from the 2024-2025 national title-winning season.

For the next season, Geno Auriemma has Azzi Fudd returning while Sarah Strong will also present as the Huskies vie for another repeat, potentially the fourth time the program has ever done it.