Geno Auriemma

Presented by The Norfolk Forum

Geno Auriemma has served as the head coach of the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team for the past 32 years.  Under his transformative leadership the team has garnered 11 national titles, 18 Final Four appearances, six perfect seasons, and 45 Conference titles.

Auriemma has been inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.  He is a nine-time national coach-of-the-year and has been named the Conference coach-of-the-year 14 times. Additionally, he has served as head coach of the US National Team--winning gold medals in both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.

His commitment to excellence is illustrated not only in his 32-year overall record of 991-135 (.880), the best winning percentage in the history of the sport, but also in his 100 percent graduation rate among four-year players. Auriemma is the first coach in women’s basketball history to compete in five consecutive Final Four appearances on two separate occasions; he enters the 2017-18 season just 9 games shy of 1,000 career wins.

Auriemma’s family immigrated to the United States from Italy in 1961 when he was 7 years old. He is a 1981 graduate of West Chester State University and currently resides in Manchester, CT, with his wife Kathy.