Geno Auriemma Reflects on His Hiring at UConn 40 Years Later

UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma reflects on his hiring process at UConn, 40 years later. He takes a trip back to the Dunkin' Donuts in Willimantic where he signed his offer letter.
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[@BobbyMick-c5b]

Geno Auriemma, best college coach of any sport in America. I absolutely love the culture he and CD have created & instilled at Uconn. Coach still *loves* his job, still profoundly affects the lives of his players year after year, so I hope he coaches another twenty. Heck, he's only 70, a lot of the old school greats coached well into their late 80's. BTW, if the 3 year injury plague on Uconn women's basketball has finally lifted, they're going to remind everyone exactly why, for thirty years, they've been the most dominant franchise in D-1 history. This team is absolutely brimming with premium talent for the foreseeable future. Go get 'em Uconn.

[@shivx1]

I'm a new WBB fan and i'm blown away this man has been head coach for 40 years. Such dedication

[@devinbrines]

I'm an instant fan. Came for Clark, staying for Geno, UConn, and USC

[@Bobbarker23455]

Love this man

[@kylepiccoli4762]

That Dunkin Donuts in Willimantic needs to become a historic landmark

[@cybergeezer]

Didn’t seem so bad when I got my BA in ‘65. UConn made the playoffs but lost in first round to St Joes in Philly. I went to see it. In those days we did refer to Willimantic as the “armpit of the nation”-not my words. So it looks like your bad decision turned out pretty, pretty, pretty good. You’re the best Coach. You made me a rabid women’s basketball fan. Many 🙏 thanks and a million kudos.

[@iWillbe90]

Crazy that Willimantic has been that way for a century.

[@SteveKaye-yl7te]

Honestly The way Uconnn basketball plays, the team firs, unselfish, we are gonna just out work you, makes uconnns success so amazing

[@kaptainh5538]

Goat . Great Coach

[@WilliamBartol]

If you want to dive deep on Geno's success, watch his Master Class. His, and UConn's success is no accident.

[@brentherndon8095]

Very impressive gino

[@victorlopez2143]

The administration's 'two' biggest hires - Jim Calhoon(86) and Geno(85)..Best Basketball program......

[@Randon_Sander]

Made a good call on that Caitlin Clark character. You were absolutely right, she was nothing special at all, and all of her fans are idiots. You’re a great judge of basketball skill and talent. Good job Coach, you showed them.

[@tellylott77]

Coach, why did you give Nika's number away so fast? I mean it will be retired for Sue in a few years anyway, what better person to be the last to wear #10 but our NIKA!!!!!!!!!!

[@howardosden3112]

Rode horses? No. We did borrow a pig one time and released it on the girl's floor. A little sheep on another occasion. (I gotta tell you, they stink!) We never had the guts to go for a calf. It probably would have been a lot harder sneaking it out of the barn and up to the third floor. We did bring them back. They had a good story to share with the herd. This was '77-'78.

[@EyeCandyAthlete]

We're you in the Jungle?

[@howardosden3112]

@EyeCandyAthlete Nope. South. Crandall B, to be exact. Some guys from the Jungle stole a keg from us once, but we got it back. 😃

[@stevendonen1177]

Thank you to John Toner for these great hirings of Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma!

[@howardosden3112]

@stevendonen1177 Absolutely. In my time, our best player was Tony Hanson. He was great! Dee Rowe was the head coach. The women's team was in its infancy and hadn't had a single winning season. Both teams were part of the Yankee conference, which essentially consisted of all of the New England state universities, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, & Vermont, along with Boston University. Holy Cross came and went before I got there.

[@audrasforest]

Sorry but after whst he daid sbput CC, my firdt thoughts were that If I had my girl playing at UConn, I would be taking my daughter out of UConn and getting her to play anywhere else