UConn's Geno Auriemma went ahead and won his eighth national title last night, with a 93-60 rout over Louisville. He now matches former Tennessee coach (and longtime rival) Pat Summitt in NCAA titles ("that puts you in a category with the greatest women's basketball coach that's ever lived," he said after the game). Last year, the great Pat Jordan profiled the legendary Huskies coach for Deadspin. Here he is, reminiscing about his early years on the job:
When I ask him why UConn hired him, he says: "I have no fucking idea. They wanted a woman. But nobody wanted the job. UConn had had only one winning season in its history. The facilities were lousy, there was no money, the pay was $29,000 a year, but I didn't give a shit. I wanted to coach. So I lied to them. I told them I'm gonna do this, and this, and this, and they believed me. So I took the job. I figured I'd win a few games then after four years I'd go someplace good, men or women, as long as I could coach on a high level." Those plans never materialized. His teams became very good, very quickly, and then, as he puts it, "a funny thing happened. After those first winning seasons, nobody called. Nobody gave a shit because I was a guy. The women's teams didn't want a guy, and the men's teams figured if I was coaching women, how good could I be?"
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