UConn's Geno Auriemma, the new winningest NCAA coach, is honored with a literal goat

Updated November 21, 2024 at 11:19 AM ET

University of Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma became the winningest coach in NCAA history on Wednesday, earning the title "Greatest of All Time" — and a literal goat to go with it.

The Huskies beat Fairleigh Dickinson University 85-41 in front of a home arena packed with fans and prominent basketball alumni, giving Auriemma his 1,217th win (compared to just 162 losses).

That broke a tie he had held since last week with retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, earning him another page in the history books.

"We never sat down and said, 'Hey, let's make a 40-year plan and see if we can make this happen,' " Auriemma said, according to the Associated Press. "It's about coming here every day and trying to be better than we were yesterday."

Auriemma, 70, has been credited with building UConn into a women's basketball powerhouse during his four decades (and counting) seasons with the team. He has led the Huskies to 11 championships, 59 conference titles, six undefeated seasons and 23 trips to the Final Four, among other achievements.

Auriemma was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. He also coached the women's basketball Olympic team in 2012 and 2016, and won the gold both times.

More than 60 alumni of UConn women's basketball were in attendance for Wednesday's game, nearly two dozen of whom — including Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore — went on to play in the WNBA.

The night was a celebration for Auriemma as well as associate head coach Chris Dailey, both of whom are in their 40th season with the program.

The school's famous Dairy Bar sold three different ice cream specials in honor of the coaches, a nearby fan fest featured a goat petting zoo and the school presented the pair with red glass basketballs before the game in honor of their ruby anniversary, according to ESPN.

In the game's final minutes, the UConn student section held up signs spelling out "1,217" — and as the clock ran out, confetti and fake "1,217 win" bills fell from the ceiling.

In a postgame ceremony, Auriemma and Dailey were honored and given several gifts, including a special ladder from Nike and a sign from Connecticut's governor. At the end, a live goat was trotted out onto the court's red carpet — symbolizing Auriemma's latest accolade as the GOAT, aka greatest of all time.

"We're honorary members of the international order of old goats," Auriemma said, petting the goat, as the crowd applauded. "Just so you know, there's an old wives' tale that whenever you do this with animals, especially goats — if this goat takes a dump on this carpet, we're going to win a national championship."

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