UConn HC No Longer Chasing National Titles For Personal Gain

In their last matchup, the UConn Huskies faced Marquette and won 71-56. The Huskies led 36-24 at the break behind Azzi Fudd’s five first-half threes. UConn is 27-0, 16-0 in the Big East, riding a 43-game overall win streak and 63 straight in conference play.

They haven’t lost in over a year, and the undefeated team looks primed to repeat history, yet Geno Auriemma says he isn’t chasing championships. When asked whether winning his 12th title lifted something off his shoulders, Auriemma spoke about a sense of freedom.

“After 2016, when Stewie’s (Breanna Stewart) group and Mo (Moriah Jefferson) and (Morgan) Tuck and those guys graduated, we had a lot of really, really heartbreaking losses in the Final Four, buzzer-beaters, and then we had a string of injuries. So part of me was, I get it. You’re not going to win it every year. I get it. The other part was, well, we’re still going to the Final Four every year. So these people out there saying 'It’s not Connecticut’s time anymore, that they’re not the same.' Well, we went to the Final Four 15 out of 16 years. So we still put ourselves in a position to win the whole thing. We just never had a full team,” started Auriemma.

After the 2016 undefeated run led by Stewart and company, UConn kept showing up in April, making it to Final Fours in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Another in 2021 and a runner-up finish in 2022. They also had a Sweet 16 appearance in 2023 and a return to the Final Four again in 2024. And then 2025 happened.

Apr 13, 2025; Hartford, CT, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma addresses the crowd while UConn student-athlete Paige Bueckers looks on during the Final Four champions victory parade and rally outside of the XL Center in Hartford, CT. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rausenberger-Imagn Images | Scott Rausenberger-Imagn Images

“Last year, when we did have a full team, and we were back in the Final Four and were able to do what we did, it wasn’t validation of any kind. It just showed what is possible when Connecticut has a full complement of players. For me personally, I go into the season now, like I have for a while, actually feeling like, OK, if we don’t win another championship ever again, as long as I’m here, it really doesn’t matter. I don’t win them for me anymore anyway. Last year’s national championship didn’t affect me one iota,” added Auriemma.

Auriemma, now in his 41st season, has 1,250 career wins, 24 Final Fours, and six perfect seasons. He’s seen every era and won championships through them all, and perhaps that's what makes the Huskies dangerous.

However, Auriemma also went on to add, “But those kids on that team, Paige (Bueckers) and all those guys, you change their lives forever. So that’s still the reason why you want to keep doing this, not because you need one more trophy or you need people to say, ‘Hey, for an old guy, you’re not a bad coach.’I don’t think you need that."

Huskies Enter March Atop NCAA Top 16

Evidently, Auriemma’s mindset and outlook towards the championship are working. In fact, the NCAA recently revealed its first top-16, and the Huskies are the overall No. 1 seed, slotted into the Fort Worth regional alongside LSU, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

The Huskies are the only unbeaten team in Division I and are tracking toward what would be the program’s seventh perfect season and 13th championship. However, the field is loaded. UCLA, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt join UConn on the No. 1 line. Six SEC teams and six Big Ten teams sit in the top 16.

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