UConn announced Tuesday that women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has signed a five-year contract extension worth $18.7 million.
The deal extends Auriemma’s contract through April 2029. At the end of the extension, Auriemma will be 75 years old. The contract all but ensures that Auriemma will end his career at UConn.
He will remain with the program during an unprecedented period of growth for women’s basketball amid a dramatically changing landscape within college sports.
“Coach Auriemma has dedicated more than half of his life to UConn and our women’s basketball program and will undoubtedly be known as one of the greatest collegiate coaches of all time,” athletics director David Benedict said in a statement announcing the deal. “His presence, dedication and loyalty to this university and state is invaluable and will be critical as we enter the most transformative period in college athletics in the last four decades.”
Auriemma, 70, has been the head coach at UConn since 1985, a span of 39 seasons. He led the program to a 1,213-162 record. UConn’s 23 Final Fours and 11 national championships under Auriemma are the most in the sport.
UConn is experiencing a relative championship drought after winning its most recent NCAA title in 2016. But the program remains one of the best in the country, having advanced to the Final Four in three of the past four seasons, including this year. The Huskies project to compete for a championship again next season, anchored by the return of two-time All-American and 2021 National Player of the Year Paige Bueckers.
