UConn's Geno Auriemma becomes NCAA all-time basketball wins leader - ESPN

STORRS, Conn. — Geno Auriemma's coaching career at UConn has already been defined by unparalleled feats. Eleven national titles. Twenty-three Final Four berths, including 15 in the past 16 years. Separate win streaks of 98 and 111 games.

And on Wednesday, in front of 60-plus former players and a sellout home crowd at Gampel Pavilion, Auriemma ascended yet another mountaintop when his Huskies routed Fairleigh Dickinson 85-41 to make him the winningest basketball coach in NCAA history.

Auriemma broke a tie he held since Friday with legendary Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, who retired in April. His 1,217 wins are the most in NCAA history, women's or men's, for any division. The record-breaker was his 329th victory of at least 40 points — he's had more than twice as many 40-point wins in his career as total losses (162).

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

The game doubled as a celebration for Auriemma and longtime associate head coach Chris Dailey's 40th season in Storrs. Red T-shirts and lighting adorned Gampel for the duo's ruby anniversary. A fan fest with a goat petting zoo was held near the arena. Three different Auriemma- and Dailey-themed ice cream specials were sold at the school's Dairy Bar. Program legends Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Maya Moore returned to their old stomping grounds to pay tribute to the coaching pair.

Auriemma and Dailey received ladders from Nike and Connecticut governor Ned Lamont presented a sign that said «Welcome to Connecticut, home of the winningest coach in basketball history.» His current team presented Auriemma with a framed jersey