The Big Lead

Geno Auriemma cements his legacy as the GOAT

By Max Weisman

Auriemma set the NCAA's all-time win record Wednesday night
Auriemma set the NCAA's all-time win record Wednesday night / Mark Smith-Imagn Images
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The No. 2 UConn Huskies defeated the Farleigh Dickinson Knights 84-51 on Wednesday, improving their record to 4-0 and setting another record in the process. With the win, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma became the winningest head coach in not just women's college basketball, but all of college basketball.

Following the game, UConn held a ceremony for Auriemma in which they honored him for his record-breaking 1,217th win, breaking Tara VanDerveer's record. The ceremony featured a live goat to show who UConn believes is the greatest coach of all time. Huskies players Paige Bueckers, Caroline Ducharme and Azzi Fudd also presented him with a UConn jersey with the number 1,217 on it.

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When people discuss the greatest college basketball coaches of all time, Mike Krzyzewski, John Wooden and Bob Knight get the most love. Auriemma, though, broke a record set by a woman, and both she and Auriemma don't normally get put in GOAT discussions because they coach in the women's game. Tara VanDerveer coached at Stanford from 1986-2024, made 13 Final Fours and won three National Championships. She broke Krzyzewski's wins record in January before retiring at the end of the season.

Now, with Auriemma breaking VanDerveer's record, it's time to call him the greatest college basketball coach of all time. Auriemma began coaching at UConn in 1985, and since arriving in Storrs no program has been anywhere near as successful. The Huskies have missed the tournament only three times during Auriemma's tenure, in just his first three seasons. Since then, they've made 23 Final Fours and won 11 National Championships, including a streak of four in a row from 2013-2016.

At one point, the Huskies won 111 games in a row, an NCAA record. They've recorded six undefeated seasons under Auriemma. Many of women's basketball's legends played under him at UConn, including Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart.

With all of these accolades, how can we not call Auriemma the GOAT of college basketball coaches?

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