When $18 million worth Geno Auriemma shared how Dunkin’ Donuts played a part in his UConn job

Geno Auriemma said Dunkin' Donuts played a role in landing the head coaching role at UConn in 1985. Appearing beside Jim Penders in Season 2 of "Coffee with Coaches" in 2023, the coach said that he verbally landed the job while sipping coffee at one of the outlets of the global fast food chain.

He reflected on his interview with John Toner, who was the athletic director of the Huskies from 1969 to 1987.

"It was the funniest thing, after the interview when they were going to offer me the job, John said, 'Come with me,'' Auriemma said (Timestamp: 1:38). "So, I get in the car and ... we go down to Willimantic. We go into Dunkin’ Donuts down here, and we sit at one of the little stools that spins around at the counter ... So, I'm sitting there, I got a cup of coffee, he's got a cup of coffee, I've got an old-fashioned, he's got an old-fashioned.

"He’s saying, 'You want to be the coach here?' I said, 'Yeah, I want to be the coach here.' 'You promise not to screw this up?' 'I won't. I won't screw this up.'

"And he shakes my hand – drink our coffee, get back in the car, come back here. They hand me a sheet of paper that says 'sign here.' And it says, 'I, Geno Auriemma, agree to be the coach of the University of Connecticut for five years.' Boom! John Toner and Geno Auriemma done."

Geno Auriemma is in his 40th year leading UConn. He has talked about his journey to the head coaching role numerous times throughout his career. In an exclusive with "What Drives Winning" in 2019, he said that he made bold promises in his job interview.

Noticing that the Huskies only had one winning season before his arrival, he said that he will make the women's basketball team a Top 20 program in the coming years.

Geno Auriemma was the coach, ticket guy, recruiting coordinator and more for UConn in its early days

While it took Geno Auriemma 10 years to lead UConn to its first NCAA title (1995), he had already converted the program into a staple March Madness name by that time. The Huskies had entered the annual tournament six consecutive times before its first championship.

So, when Auriemma reflected on his journey to make the school a women's basketball powerhouse in November 2024, he said that he used to actively manage other responsibilities apart from coaching. His comments came in light of praising associate head coach Chris Dailey.

"When we started coaching together, we didn’t have anyone else that we could rely on to help us build what we were trying to build," he said.

"We relied on each other for everything – we were the ticket office, the recruiting coordinators, the media people, the coaching people — anything that had to be done, we had to do it."

Now, Geno Auriemma is the most winningest coach in college basketball history. He has 11 NCAA championships under his belt and is currently pushing toward his 12th.