KNOXVILLE, Tenn — UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma reached career win No. 1,099 on Tuesday night, beating Butler 103-35, passing legendary Lady Vol head coach Pat Summitt in the process.
Summitt held the record for most wins in Division I basketball for quite some time, but in recent years has been passed by Duke's Mike Krzyzewski on the men's side, Stanford's Tara VanDerveer and Auriemma on the women's side.
"I wish she was still with us coaching and I wish I had to work a lot harder to catch her. I didn't think I would be coaching long enough to be in this position. That certainly wasn't my goal. There have been times when I have felt like it doesn't matter to me," Auriemma said after the game on Tuesday night.
Summit's final win came in the Elite Eight during the 2012 NCAA women's basketball tournament, beating Kansas 84-73.
The Lady Vols and UConn played in the most heated rivalry in women's basketball every season from 1995-2007. After more than 13 years, the two finally played again on Jan. 23, 2020. UConn won that game 60-45.
Kellie Harper and the No. 25 Lady Vols will take on Auriemma and the No. 3 Huskies on Jan. 21 in Thompson-Boling Arena as part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Revival Series.
It will mark the official We Back Pat home game for the Lady Vols. This past week marks the 10th anniversary of the initiative within the SEC that was established in conjunction with the Pat Summitt Foundation.
The Pat Summitt Foundation, a fund of East Tennessee Foundation, was established by Pat and Tyler Summitt in November 2011. Its mission is to award grants to nonprofit organizations that advance research for treatment and a cure, provide care and support for patients and caregivers, and educate the public about Alzheimer's disease.
The game tips at 7:04 p.m. EST and you can watch it on ESPN2.