There are two head coaches at the Division I level of women's college basketball who have been at their respective programs for 39 seasons, the longest tenure of any active head coach.
One is Stanford's coach Tara VanDerveer, who joined the Cardinal for the 1985-86 season and has been honing her craft at Stanford ever since, resulting in three NCAA Championships, 13 Final Four appearances and 15 Pac-12 conference titles.
The other is UConn legend Geno Auriemma.
Like VanDerveer, Auriemma has been the leader of the Huskies basketball program since 1985. He joined UConn after a four-year stint at Virginia as an assistant, and the rest is history. Under Auriemma, the Huskies women's basketball team transformed from constantly posting losing seasons to becoming a powerhouse in the sport.
The Huskies may hold the record for most national championships (11), but they haven't reached the top of the women's basketball mountain since 2016. With star guard Paige Bueckers, UConn aims to add to its historic legacy in 2024 as the No. 3 seed in its region.
Questions about Auriemma's future with the team have been brought up ahead of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Here is what the UConn coach has said about a potential retirement.
WOMEN'S BRACKET GUIDES: UConn | Iowa | South Carolina | LSU | USC
Is Geno Auriemma retiring?
Auriemma has been asked multiple times about a potential retirement. Given his age, it is certainly something that he has to be mulling over.
However, the UConn head coach has no plans on giving up his job with the Huskies.
"They keep offering me a new contract and at some point you're gonna say, 'No, I can't do this anymore,'" Auriemma said of UConn earlier in the season. "You know when that day will be? When we can't get players or what you have to go through to get good players becomes like, 'Do I really want to do that?'"
Despite the recent changes to the college landscape thanks to NIL, Auriemma has continued to excel on the recruiting trail. Next fall, two McDonald's All-Americans in Allie Ziebell (No. 4 recruit in class) and Morgan Cheli (No. 18 recruit) are headed to Storrs to join the program.
Not only that, but Sarah Strong, the No. 1 player in the class, could be joining the Huskies. The five-star prospect has yet to make a commitment, but UConn is one of her finalists.
"Our recruiting hasn't fallen off,” Auriemma said. “We're still getting the kind of players that I like to coach and I enjoy being around."
Auriemma doesn't have anything left to prove. His resume makes him one of the best coaches in basketball, period, let alone just in the NCAA.
“My friends back home say 'Stay until you become number one.' For what purpose? Seriously," Auriemma said.
"I think at this point in a career, there's really nothing that I could accomplish that would make me step back and say, 'Wow, that is really, really, really (special).' I like to think that our basketball program is going to be remembered more for the 11 national championships that we have, rather than the number of wins that I have or may get down the road."
How old is Geno Auriemma?
Auriemma turned 70 years old on the second day of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
He was born on March 23, 1954, so he spent the majority of the 2023-24 season still in his 60s.
WOMEN'S BRACKET TIPS: Expert picks | Upset predictions | Best odds to win it all
How long has Geno Auriemma coached UConn?
Auriemma has been coaching at UConn since the 1985-86 season. The 2023-24 campaign marks his 39th at the helm of the Huskies.
He is tied with VanDerveer as the longest-tenured head coach in women's college basketball. The pair are one of only three coaches to have coached in their current role since the 1980s. DePaul's Doug Bruno, who has been with the Blue Demons since 1988-89, is the other.
Here is a look at the other longest-tenured women's basketball coaches at the Division I level in the NCAA:
| Coach | Program | First Season |
| Tara VanDerveer | Stanford | 1985-86 |
| Geno Auriemma | UConn | 1985-86 |
| Doug Bruno | DePaul | 1988-89 |
| Bill Fennelly | Iowa State | 1995-96 |
| Tricia Fabbri | Quinnipiac | 1995-96 |
| Freda Freeman-Jackson | Alabama State | 1998-98 |
| Carey Green | Liberty | 1999-00 |
| Aaron Johnston | South Dakota State | 1999-00 |
| Rick Stein | Southern Indiana | 1999-00 |
Geno Auriemma NCAA Tournament record
Auriemma sports an incredibly impressive record in the NCAA Tournament.
UConn has compiled a tournament record of 133-23 under Auriemma. That comes out to a jaw-dropping winning percentage of .899.
Here is a look at Auriemma's tournament history:
| Tournament | Result | Final Game |
| 1989 | Lost in first round | 73-63 vs. No. 9 La Salle |
| 1990 | Lost in second round | 61-59 vs. No. 5 Clemson |
| 1991 | Lost in Final Four | 61-55 vs. No. 1 Virginia |
| 1992 | Lost in second round | 75-47 vs. No. 3 Vanderbilt |
| 1993 | Lost in first round | 74-71 vs No. 11 Louisville |
| 1994 | Lost in Elite Eight | 81-69 vs. No. 3 North Carolina |
| 1995 | Won Championship | 70-64 vs. No. 1 Tennessee |
| 1996 | Lost in Final Four | 88-83 vs. No. 1 Tennessee (OT) |
| 1997 | Lost in Elite Eight | 91-81 vs. No. 1 Tennessee |
| 1998 | Lost in Elite Eight | 60-52 vs. No. 4 NC State |
| 1999 | Lost in Sweet Sixteen | 64-58 vs. No. 4 Iowa State |
| 2000 | Won Championship | 71-52 vs. No. 1 Tennessee |
| 2001 | Lost in Final Four | 90-75 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame |
| 2002 | Won Championship | 81-70 vs. No. 1 Oklahoma |
| 2003 | Won Championship | 73-68 vs. No. 1 Tennessee |
| 2004 | Won Championship | 70-61 vs. No. 1 Tennessee |
| 2005 | Lost in Sweet Sixteen | 76-59 vs. No. 2 Stanford |
| 2006 | Lost in Elite Eight | 63-61 vs. No. 1 Duke (OT) |
| 2007 | Lost in Elite Eight | 73-50 vs. No. 3 LSU |
| 2008 | Lost in Final Four | 82-73 vs. No. 2 Stanford |
| 2009 | Won Championship | 76-54 vs. No. 3 Louisville |
| 2010 | Won Championship | 53-47 vs. No. 1 Stanford |
| 2011 | Lost in Final Four | 72-63 vs. No. 2 Notre Dame |
| 2012 | Lost in Final Four | 83-75 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame (OT) |
| 2013 | Won Championship | 93-60 vs. No. 5 Louisville |
| 2014 | Won Championship | 79-58 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame |
| 2015 | Won Championship | 63-53 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame |
| 2016 | Won Championship | 82-51 vs. No. 4 Syracuse |
| 2017 | Lost in Final Four | 66-64 vs. No. 2 Mississippi State (OT) |
| 2018 | Lost in Final Four | 91-89 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame (OT) |
| 2019 | Lost in Final Four | 81-76 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame |
| 2021 | Lost in Final Four | 69-59 vs. No. 3 Arizona |
| 2022 | Lost Championship | 64-49 vs. No. 1 South Carolina |
| 2023 | Lost in Sweet Sixteen | 73-61 vs. No. 3 Ohio State |
