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It was a ceremony to Geno Auriemma following his record-setting 1,217th victory in November.
But Diana Taurasi’s speech at Gampel Pavilion included a shout-out to the woman who has played a role in the lives of UConn women’s basketball players over the past 40 seasons.
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“Miss A?” Taurasi said as she looked into the crowd. “I’ll always remember those conversations in your driveway, where I would say, ‘I’m done with this man.’ And you would say, ‘Me too, Dee. Me too.’ “
The story got laughter and cheers, especially from the many former players lining the court that night.
Kathy Auriemma has been a major player in the success and culture of the Huskies. And the Auriemma’s home in Manchester has been an off-campus gathering spot for players and program and staff throughout the past four decades.
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As the Huskies play for their 12th NCAA title Sunday against South Carolina, Geno Auriemma talked about the effect of his wife on the program.
“It’s been like that from the very beginning,” he said. “There were times when players would show up at my house and I’ll be, like, ‘What are you doing here?’ They came to have dinner with Kathy. I would just leave, I would go find something to do.
UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma and his wife, Kathy Auriemma, hold their granddaughter Gia while watching their favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles, play in the Super Bowl Sunday among friends and family at their restaurant Cafe Aura in Manchester, Conn.
Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media
“Anytime I’m home, anytime I’m losing it over something that’s happening with some of the players, she’s the first one to take their side of it and make it less personal. Like, ‘why are you thinking that or feeling like that? You need to put yourself in their shoes more and see what are they feeling, what are they thinking’ – always make me look at it from their point of view.”
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Geno and Kathy met at community college in the 1970s. They married in 1978 and began the journey of a coach, moving from a college assistant job at Saint Joseph’s to a high school position to an assistant position at Virginia.
In 1985, Auriemma was hired by UConn. The couple had the first of their three children as they relocated, starting in a Willimantic apartment before moving to Manchester.
These days, they have grandchildren and a bustling restaurant and Auriemma is the most successful coach in his sport.
“Her relationship with all my players, all my teams, is pretty special.”
Geno Auriemma talks about the relationship between his players and his wife, Kathy: pic.twitter.com/1zJ5YB78Hq
— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) April 5, 2025
Kathy Auriemma is a constant presence at UConn games and with her husband at WNBA game, supporting the first players.
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“Always, road trips, after games, she’s their biggest cheerleader,” Geno Auriemma said. “She’s the one in the locker room whenever to celebrate.
“I don’t think any coach or anyone in the world that’s trying to accomplish something that’s really, really difficult and where it takes you away from your family a lot can possibly do it without someone that understands and is embracing it and is willing to be a willing partner in all that.
“So her relationship with all my players, all my teams is pretty special.”
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