Geno Auriemma’s college sweetheart became the heart of UConn women’s basketball -Credit:Getty
(Getty)
Behind one of the most successful coaches in the history of college basketball stands a woman his players have come to love just as much as the man himself.
Kathy Auriemma, the wife of UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma, has been by his side for more than four decades, and her influence on the program runs far deeper than most people realize, as her husband recently confirmed his retirement decision ahead of March Madness.
The story of how they met is one Geno has told many times, and it never gets old. The two first crossed paths at Montgomery County Junior College in December 1972, where Geno was playing on the men’s basketball team and Kathy was a cheerleader. After a game one evening, plans to meet up with the rest of the team fell apart, leaving just the two of them.
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“There’s probably two versions of the story of how we met,” Geno recalled. “My version is she has been following me around for about a week, or something like that, you know, stalking me, and eventually, you know, I got tired.”
“And hers is probably closer to the truth. She was a cheerleader and I was on the team, and we’re supposed to meet after the game. Everybody left, and she’s standing there.”
“And I said, ‘Okay, where’s your house? Where are we going here?’ And she said, ‘See that drug store over there?’ I said yes. She goes, ‘Well, my mom and I have an apartment on top of the drugstore.’ I was like, hit the brakes. You know? I think we almost got an accident. Like, you got to be kidding me. The rest is history.”
Geno later transferred to West Chester University, graduating in 1977 before launching his coaching career. The following year, he and Kathy married, beginning what his own website describes as a partnership born when they were “broke but madly in love.”
Kathy has been his most constant source of support ever since, and Geno describes her on his website as “his most valued and trusted source of guidance and loyalty.” He has been equally candid in interviews.
“I’ve been exceptionally lucky,” he said. “I’ve had the good fortune of having a partner that understands and believes in what I’m doing.”
Geno Auriemma and his wife first met at Montgomery County Junior College in December 1972 -Credit:Getty
Together they have raised three children, daughters Alysa and Jenna and son Michael, and have since welcomed four grandchildren. With Geno frequently on the road recruiting or coaching, it fell to Kathy to hold the family together at home.
Their daughter, Alysa, put it memorably. “She’s a handler, like Scandal’s Olivia Pope,” Alysa said. “A former English teacher, she knew how to wrangle kids into doing their stuff. Sure, there were times I didn’t do what I was supposed to, but the guilt of not doing it would be so bad that I’d end up apologizing profusely before her yelling ceased. My mom didn’t inspire fear so much as a desire to be good.”
That same maternal energy has extended to generations of UConn players, who affectionately call her Mrs. A. Kathy typically travels with the team, checks in on players through injury and personal struggles, and has attended and even participated in the weddings of former players. The impact is perhaps best captured by former UConn standout Stefanie Dolson.
“When you think of the brains of UConn basketball, you think of coach Auriemma,” Dolson said. “But when you think of the heart, you think of Mrs. A.”
