Before Geno Auriemma took over in Storrs, Connecticut, in August 1985, the Huskies had had one winning season in their 11-year history. Since then, Auriemma has guided the Huskies to nine national championships, five perfect seasons, 26 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, 19 30-win seasons and 15 Final Four berths (including seven consecutive ones).
Along the way, the Naismith Hall of Famer has amassed 900 career coaching victories, having reached the milestone Tuesday as the Huskies beat Cincinnati. Auriemma is just the sixth Division I women's basketball head coach to reach 900 wins and the first male to do so while coaching a women's team. Auriemma is also the fastest coach to reach 900 wins.
Here is a look back at some of the biggest milestones along the way for the six-time Naismith Coach of the Year:
Nov. 23, 1985: After being hired in August, Auriemma won his inaugural game as UConn's coach 73-67 at Iona. The Huskies finished the season 12-15 overall (4-12 in the Big East). It was Auriemma's only losing season in Storrs.
March 15, 1989: The Huskies lost to LaSalle 72-63, but it marked the program's first NCAA tournament appearance.
Dec. 31, 1990: Just 10 games into his sixth season at UConn, Auriemma won his 100th game with a 69-56 home victory.
March 16, 1991: Career win No. 119 marked Auriemma's first NCAA tournament victory. The Huskies went on to reach their first Final Four later that month.
Jan. 2, 1995: The 1994-95 season was full of milestones, beginning with Auriemma's 200th win at home over Pitt 100-67.
Jan. 16, 1995: In the first game of what would turn into one of the greatest rivalries in women's college basketball history, UConn hosted Tennessee on Martin Luther King Day. The Associated Press poll voting was delayed a day to account for the result, a 77-66 Huskies victory that flipped the teams' rankings, as UConn took over No. 1. Local star Rebecca Lobo tallied 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists and five blocks for the Huskies.
Jan. 18, 1995: Two days later, the Huskies notched their first victory as the nation's No. 1-ranked team 79-54 over Boston College.
April 2, 1995: After one of the most lopsided Final Four games to that point -- 87-60 over Stanford -- the Huskies beat Tennessee 70-64 to claim their first national championship and cap the second perfect season (but first with 35 wins) in NCAA Division I women's basketball history.
Nov. 29, 1997: Auriemma won his 300th game -- 101-38 over Rhode Island -- just 106 games after his 200th career win.
April 2, 2000: What's sweeter than winning an NCAA title? Winning it in your hometown. Auriemma's Huskies avenged a 72-71 loss to Tennessee two months prior with a 71-52 victory over the Lady Vols in the NCAA championship game in Philadelphia.
Dec. 10, 2000: A 97-55 rout of Iowa marked Auriemma's 400th career win.
March 31, 2002: After losing to Notre Dame in the 2001 Final Four, the Huskies didn't lose again until 2003. The team that beat Oklahoma 82-70 in the 2002 national championship is largely regarded as the best in women's NCAA tournament history. With a starting five of Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, Diana Taurasi and Tamika Williams, the Huskies went 39-0 and beat their opponents by an average of 35.4 points per game. They won all but one game by double digits.
Jan. 18, 2003: Three days after winning its 54th straight game to tie Louisiana Tech's NCAA Division I women's record (1980-82) for consecutive wins, UConn broke the record with a 72-49 victory over Georgetown at the Hartford Civic Center.
March 10, 2003: UConn beat Virginia Tech 71-54 in the Big East tournament to run its win streak to 70 games. Then-No. 18 Villanova snapped the streak a day later with a 52-48 upset, which left UConn 18 wins shy of UCLA's NCAA-record 88-game streak ... this time.
April 6, 2003: Auriemma's 500th victory -- 71-69 over Texas -- earned the program another spot in the NCAA title game.
April 8, 2003: With Diana Taurasi leading the way, the Huskies repeated as national champions, again beating Tennessee in the title game, and captured the program's fourth NCAA crown. The 73-68 victory at the Georgia Dome capped a 37-1 season.
April 6, 2004: It was hardly a perfect season -- the Huskies went 31-4, matching the team's loss total for the previous five seasons -- but for the second straight year, UConn beat Tennessee (70-61) in the national championship game. The Huskies became just the second women's college basketball team to three-peat, but the season also produced one of the sport's more famous lines. In explaining his team's success, Auriemma said, "We have Diana, and they don't." Diana Taurasi repeated as the Final Four Most Outstanding Player. UConn also became the first school to win both Division I basketball championships in the same year (the Huskies men beat Georgia Tech the night before in San Antonio).
Sept. 9, 2006: Part of a six-member class that included Charles Barkley and Dominique Wilkins, Auriemma (in his first year of eligibility) was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. At the time, he was only the seventh women's NCAA basketball coach enshrined. Auriemma was also inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee, in April 2006.
Dec. 31, 2006: UConn doubled up Sacred Heart 82-40 to score Auriemma's 600th win.
April 7, 2009: Tina Charles put in one of the best title game performances in women's NCAA tournament history by tallying 25 points and 19 rebounds in a 76-54 victory over Louisville to wrap up the fifth unbeaten season in women's college history and UConn's sixth title. A year after Stanford eliminated UConn in the Final Four, the Huskies' exacted revenge with a 83-64 victory over Stanford in the national semifinals. UConn became the first Division I team, men's or women's, to go undefeated and win every game by double digits.
Nov. 27, 2009: Win No. 700 came against Hofstra 91-46.
April 6, 2010: After an imperfect first half -- UConn trailed 20-12 at the break -- the Huskies beat Stanford 53-47 for the NCAA title (it marked the lowest combined total in championship game history). With Maya Moore leading the way, UConn beat its NCAA tournament foes by 35.7 points per game. The Huskies ended the season on a 78-game win streak.
Dec. 19, 2010: In front of the second-largest crowd for a women's basketball game at Madison Square Garden (15,232), UConn beat Ohio State 81-50 for its 88th consecutive victory and tied the NCAA Division I basketball win streak set by legendary coach John Wooden and the UCLA men's team nearly four decades earlier (1971-74). This was also UConn's 86th double-digit win in the streak.
Dec. 21, 2010: Maya Moore scored 41 points to lead the Huskies to a 93-62 victory over Florida State and UConn's 89th straight win to surpass UCLA's record.
Dec. 30, 2010: Two days earlier, UConn ran the streak to 90 consecutive wins after thumping Pacific 85-42, but Stanford put a stop to the streak with a 71-59 victory at Maples Pavilion.
March 6, 2012: The past five years, UConn has had no bigger rival than Notre Dame. After losing to the Irish 72-59 a week earlier in a regular-season finale, the Huskies beat Notre Dame 63-54 in the Big East tournament championship game and earned Auriemma's 800th win. It was UConn's only win against the Irish that season. Notre Dame went 3-1 against the Huskies, including a Final Four win in Denver.
April 9, 2013: UConn entered the NCAA tournament with four losses, including three against Notre Dame and one against defending NCAA champ Baylor. But after beating the Irish 83-65 in the Final Four, the Huskies crushed Louisville 93-60 for their eighth national title.
March 31, 2014: The Huskies beat Texas A&M 69-54 to advance to their seventh consecutive Final Four, an NCAA women's basketball record.
April 8, 2014: All season, UConn and Notre Dame were on a collision course, and they made history as two unbeaten teams met in the title game for the first time. The Huskies beat the Irish 79-58 in Nashville to earn the program's record ninth NCAA title and pass Tennessee's Pat Summitt, who won her eighth and final title in 2008. UConn finished the season 40-0, and sophomore Breanna Stewart repeated as the Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
Feb. 3, 2015: With a 96-36 drubbing of Cincinnati, Auriemma won his 900th game.