Women's Fastbreak On SI

UConn's Geno Auriemma Reveals Why Coaches 'Are Dying to Get Out Of' NCAA

UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma didn't mince words about the state of college sports.
Grant Young|
Feb 12, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma watches from the sideline as they take on the St. John's Red Storm at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Feb 12, 2025; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma watches from the sideline as they take on the St. John's Red Storm at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

UConn Huskies women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma has been leading his program for 40 seasons. Over that time, he has amassed a whopping 11 NCAA national championships and won eight Naismith Coach of the Year awards.

Given that Auriemma is now 70 years old and his legacy is set in stone, there has been speculation about when he's going to retire, as he has alluded to this potential retirement coming sooner rather than later in the past.

Of course, college sports have been completely upended in recent years after the NCAA's rule change regarding NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness), where players can now profit off of their own success.

This has opened the floodgates of college sports becoming all about the money, with student-athletes choosing their programs and swapping schools based on where they can receive the most money.

And during a February 21 appearance on The Athletic Women's Basketball Show, Auriemma explained how jaded many coaches have become as a result of this new college landscape.

"Coaching in 1985 and coaching today would be the difference between riding a tricycle and flying a jet plane," Auriemma said. "You can't even imagine the difference, the landscape, how it has changed, and why so many coaches are dying to get out of the game.

"Because it's unmanageable. Not that it's unfair, that's beside the point that it's unfair. It's unfair to mid-majors, it's unfair to the schools that don't have the money, it's unfair to everybody except the 40 or 50 schools in the country that can afford to live in that world," he continued.

"So it's unfair for the rest of college sports. But it's unmanageable. You can't manage it, because there's no rules. And no one can operate when there's no rules."

Those are some extremely strong words from the legendary college coach.

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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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