When Geno Auriemma pondered if NIL deals caused NCAA legends like Coach K and Jay Wright to retire: "A different challenge now"

UConn coach Geno Auriemma has seen it all over his 40-year Hall of Fame coaching career. From national championships and player development to the more recent challenges of name, image and likeness policies, he has navigated the ever-evolving landscape of college basketball.

With the introduction of NIL in 2021, a new set of complexities was introduced into the sport. For coaches especially, they now have to manage not only the traditional aspects of roster construction but also the new financial realities that come with players earning money through endorsement deals.

In the wake of the NIL era, several high-profile coaches have retired, including Duke's Mike "Coach K" Krzyzewski, Villanova's Jay Wright, Stanford's Tara VanDerveer and Rutgers' C. Vivian Stringer.

When Geno Auriemma joined popular sportscaster Boomer Esiason on "Game Time" in March 2023, he was asked if the new NIL world could have played a factor in the retirement decisions of these legendary coaches.

"I think it was a little bit of both. I think there's certainly a different challenge now than there's ever been," Auriemma said (3:41).

"I think a lot of us older coaches that have been around the game for a long, long time ... you all have to adapt and you all have to change, but some of the things that are happening right now ... it's really not great ... certainly for the coaches — it's enough to give you a pause.

"And I think if you've had a lot of success in your career and you're not chasing anything, you can say it's time."

Geno Auriemma and UConn Huskies chase 12th national championship

Since taking over the UConn women's basketball program in 1985, Geno Auriemma has led the Huskies to an unprecedented level of success — 11 national championships, an unparalleled streak of four straight titles from 2013 to 2016 and 23 Final Four appearances.

However, since their last national title in 2016, they have only been to one national championship game — in 2022, when they fell to Dawn Staley's South Carolina.

As they aim to claim their 12th national title this season, the Huskies are off to a 10-1 start in the 2024-25 season and look primed to make another deep NCAA run.

Senior guard Paige Bueckers — last year's Big East Player of the Year — is in fine form, averaging 20.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

Coach Geno Auriemma, who celebrated his 40th season in Storrs, became the winningest coach in college basketball in November with 1,217 career wins. The national championship at the end of the season would be a fitting capstone to his historic tenure.