UConn’s Geno Auriemma Makes Division I Basketball History After Nearly Four Decades

UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma made Division I history on Wednesday night as he captured his 1,200th win of his career.

Auriemma becomes the third college basketball coach, men’s or women’s, to reach this milestone. He now sits behind Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer (1,206 wins) and Duke’s former coach Mike Krzyzewski (1,202 wins). The UConn coach is the only one to secure all 1,200 wins with one program.

Auriemma hit the milestone the quickest out of these three coaches, as he did so in his 39th season. VanDerveer reached 1,200 wins earlier this season in her 45th year of coaching, while Krzyzewski hit this many wins in his 46th season.

Auriemma reminisced about his career thus far at UConn, saying how he began coaching the team back when hardly anyone was in attendance. Now thousands of fans go to watch the Huskies.

“We helped make something happen that never existed and no one ever thought it could happen,” Auriemma said after the game. “I'm pretty proud of that.”

UConn’s star forward Aaliyah Edwards praised her coach after the game.

“Every win is a credit to how great he loves the game,” Edwards said. “Passionate about the game, but passionate about watching women win.”

Auriemma will continue adding to his winning record as he hasn’t made any plans to retire as of now.