After the team’s opening-round victory over Jackson State in the 2024 women’s NCAA tournament on Saturday, the UConn women’s basketball team celebrated its head coach in a very spirited manner.
As it was longtime Huskies coach Geno Auriemma’s 70th birthday, the team wore customized shirts after the win to celebrate the coach and poke a little fun at him in the process.
Shirts included funny photos of Auriemma and one of the character Carl Fredrickson from the Pixar film Up.
This was a very funny way for UConn to honor its legendary basketball coach as the team attempts to win another national title.
UConn’s entire team had custom T-shirts for Geno’s 70th birthday pic.twitter.com/1Wf2Q5dNrT
— Daniel Connolly (@DanielVConnolly) March 23, 2024
Backstory on the shirts: All the players have one and got to pick their own photo.
Shade says her photo summarizes Geno’s relationship with her: “When he yells at me I’ve just started translating it to love you instead of you suck.” https://t.co/MreODXDb1j
— Emily Adams (@eaadams6) March 23, 2024
We’ll see how far Auriemma’s team can get in what should be a very competitive women’s NCAA tournament this year.
With heavy hitters like South Carolina, USC and Iowa also contending this spring, it’s going to be a tough task for Auriemma’s team to win another championship for the school.
If they do, it’ll be a heck of a way to celebrate Auriemma’s 70th birthday season in style.