40 Years On, UConn’s Geno Auriemma is Still Butting Heads… and Winning

Geno Auriemma, the UConn women’s basketball coach for the past 40 years, has won a record 12 national championships, the most recent in 2025. Geno, whose brash demeanor often overshadowed the on-court action, played a pivotal role in making women’s basketball mainstream. Perhaps there would be no WNBA without him and his chief rival, legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt.

Now, as Auriemma contemplates retirement, Apple has documented his remarkable run in The Dynasty: UConn Huskies, a compelling three-part series  directed by Matthew Hamachek and Erica Sashin. Dynasty interviews Auriemma, former players, including Rebecca Lobo, Sarah Strong, Diana Taurasi, and Paige Bueckers as well as journalists Jeff Goldberg, Jackie MacMullan and Sally Jenkins. For hardcore UConn fans, there’s lots of rehashing. Regardless, it’s all entertaining. “Geno” as everyone calls him, is a colorful, often politically incorrect character, prone to controversy. Just last season — though he ended up apologizing — he went viral for a contentious half-court exchange at the Final Four with the South Carolina coach Dawn Staley whose team had just beaten his.

It all started by chance. A friend who was coaching a girl’s high school basketball team badgered Geno, then a male chauvinist as far as women’s sports, into being his assistant. Geno proceeded to coach the girls like, well, boys. It worked. After an assistant stint at Virginia, Geno landed the head spot in Storrs at perennial cellar dweller UConn. Four years later, UConn was dancing but still nowhere near the Goliaths: Old Dominion, Louisiana Tech, and the Kentucky of the women’s game, Tennessee, coached by Summitt. Geno needed studs — and he got ‘em, most notably Lobo from neighboring Massachusetts. She had elite size and skills, but Geno thought she lacked a killer instinct. He drove her hard, almost out of the program in fact. Ultimately, Lobo stayed, and UConn won its first national championship in 1995.

There were great expectations in Storrs that there might be a repeat, but it didn’t happen. Instead, Tennessee and Summitt — who Geno deemed “the evil empire” rolled to a threepeat. In the ensuing rivalry, Summit’s persona was the dignified civil rights advocate and Geno was the heel. Behind the scenes though, both were birds of a feather, relentlessly driving their players like military field generals. Ironically, both elevated the women’s game by treating their players like players, not women. Summitt, however, put an end to the rivalry in 2007, refusing to sign the contract for the out of conference game. Dynasty doesn’t dive deep on Summitt’s decision.

In 2000, UConn finally won another championship. With players like Diana Taurasi, it became the expectation. In Taurasi, Auriemma found a kindred spirit. Both were the children of immigrants. For both, losing was anathema. As for Geno, his outsider status drove him to succeed, so he’d be accepted. For him, winning is a fleeting panacea. Losing is a dark, weighty burden. An explanation for Geno’s perceived bullying? Well, it’s a product of his childhood inferiority complex. Dynasty is at its best when it tackles Geno’s psyche.

But after their eleventh championship in 2016, UConn went cold. They still won a ton, but they fell short of a title. Final Four appearances just don’t cut it in Storrs. Enter Paige Bueckers, an uber stud from Minnesota. Simply, she had It. But Bueckers battled injury — and Geno. In short, he wanted her to challenge her teammates. During a post-loss film session, their friction hit a boiling point. Geno got personal. Dynasty doesn’t provide footage. Bueckers was offended, but she didn’t wilt. After 9 years in the desert, UConn won another crown. In the championship game’s closing moments, Geno and Bueckers share a poignant moment. An aside: Dynasty spends ample time on Bueckers romantic relationship with a teammate. Conspicuously though, Dynasty doesn’t get a comment on this from Geno.

Unfortunately, Dynasty doesn’t cover the current pay-for-play era. It will be interesting to see how Geno, an old school coach, continues to adapt — or if he just walks away. Personally, I hope he sticks around a while longer. Love him, hate him, Geno Auriemma, warts and all, is great for basketball.