Geno Auriemma, Dan Hurley take center stage as UConn launches $1.5bn worth campaign

UConn coach Geno Auriemma is fresh off winning his twelfth national title in charge of the Huskies after a nine-year drought. However, Huskies fans have not been starved off natty wins, as men's basketball coach Dan Hurley won two consecutive titles in 2023 and 2024 to ensure that Storrs remains the basketball capital of the nation.

On Tuesday, the two coaches appeared together during the university's "Because of UConn" campaign which aims to raise $1.5 billion to support efforts to improve student retention and graduation rates. Both Auriemma and Hurley gave speeches during the glitzy gala held on campus grounds on Tuesday evening.

UConn President Radenka Maric revealed the mission of the campaign that roped in both the national championship-winning Geno Auriemma and Dan Hurley, while explaining how it involved the university's sports teams.

“This ambitious campaign is fully aligned with a strategic plan that will lead the way to a bigger, brighter, bolder UConn,” says Maric. “It supports students to help them excel in the classroom and post-graduation.

"‘Because of UConn‘ elevates our academic standing and fuels groundbreaking research that moves Connecticut and the world forward. It asks our donors and alumni to invest in a healthier world and our continued excellence in D1 sports.”

Geno Auriemma follows Dan Hurley's path

For the past two seasons, Dan Hurley has made the long trek to New York to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange after winning two consecutive national championships. On Tuesday, Geno Auriemma followed the well-trodden path of Hurley and appeared at the NYSE where he gave a speech and rang the opening bell at 9:30 a.m. E.T.

During his speech, Auriemma thanked the Huskies alumnus who attended the event and compared UConn to the NYSE while crediting basketball for the university's growth, echoing President Radenka Maric's words during the "Because of UConn" launch event.

“At UConn, we’re a little bit of a smaller version of that (NYSE),” Geno Auriemma said. “We’ve taken something that was a small thing at a small regional university… and it’s become world renowned. It started as a New England university and now it’s a national, world-wide university and sports has had a lot to do with that, obviously basketball has had a lot to do with that.”

Geno Auriemma made sure to point out that the UConn Huskies had won three national championships in the past three years, including the charismatic Dan Hurley in his team's triumph even as he replaced him on the podium at the NYSE.