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Geno Auriemma Reveals What Won't Affect His UConn Retirement Decision

UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma addressed one narrative about what he'll base his eventual coaching retirement decision on.
Grant Young|
Apr 6, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma speaks to the media after the national championship of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Apr 6, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma speaks to the media after the national championship of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

During her appearance on ESPN's Bird & Taurasi Show during the April 6 NCAA championship and between the UConn Huskies and South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball teams, Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark conveyed her opinion on when legendary UConn head coach Geno Auriemma (who is 71 years old and has coached 40 seasons) would retire.

"It's a tough question... this is year 40. He got through Paige. I think he's got a soft spot for Azzi [Fudd], I really think he does," Clark said.

"I think he coaches one more after this with Azzi and then maybe he heads out," she added.

While this sentiment makes sense, Auriemma explained during an April 10 interview on SportsCenter that tying his retirement decision to a specific player won't be the case.

"How I feel when I wake up in the morning," Auriemma said when asked what will determine how much longer he'll coach. "I think every day is a new day... and you hear people talk about, 'Oh, he's not leaving until Paige leaves, Oh, he's not leaving until Azzi leaves, Oh, he's not leaving until Sarah leaves.' But if we're doing our job right, there's always one of those [players], or two of those, or however many that are there that you go, 'Well, how can you leave them?'

"And at some point, it's going to be 'I wish I could stay longer, but I'm just not good enough to coach this team anymore and they deserve better,'" he continued. "And when that time comes, I hope I have the sense to step away and leave it in the hands of someone who's better equipped at that time to do it."

While this makes sense, Auriemma will always be hard-pressed to find someone who's better equipped to coach UConn, regardless of his age.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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