University of Connecticut Athletics
1902 | Women's basketball became the first female sport when C.A.C. beat Willimantic High School 15-6 at a gymnasium in Grove Cottage, the women's dormitory on the Storrs campus. The women's basketball team was "unbeaten," winning all five games it played. |
1920 | Following World War I, women's basketball fielded a team with assigned coaches, playing its first all-college schedule in 1924. |
1927 | Field hockey, under the direction of Athletic Director Roy Guyer, became the second women's intercollegiate sport at Connecticut. |
1902 | Women's basketball became the first female sport when C.A.C. beat Willimantic High School 15-6 at a gymnasium in Grove Cottage, the women's dormitory on the Storrs campus. The women's basketball team was "unbeaten," winning all five games it played. |
1920 | Following World War I, women's basketball fielded a team with assigned coaches, playing its first all-college schedule in 1924. |
1927 | Field hockey, under the direction of Athletic Director Roy Guyer, became the second women's intercollegiate sport at Connecticut. |
1938 | Women's athletics at Connecticut State College sustained a major setback when it was announced that a "system of play-days had replaced the varsity team competition of women's athletics." Women's athletics at Connecticut would not return as varsity intercollegiate sports within the newly-created Division of Athletics until 1974 (Title IX). |
1974 | The inclusion of women's varsity intercollegiate competition in the newly-formed Division of Athletics. Women's basketball, field hockey, gymnastics, swimming and diving, softball, tennis, volleyball, and outdoor track and field were the initial varsity women's programs introduced at the University of Connecticut. |
1977 | Women's indoor track and field was added as a varsity program. |
1979 | Women's soccer was added as a varsity sport. |
1981 | Men’s soccer standout Len Tsantiris was named head coach of the women's soccer program. UConn won its first NCAA National Championship in any sport when on November 22, 1981 head coach Diane Wright directed Connecticut to the national championship - the semi-finals and national title games all contested at Memorial Stadium in Storrs. |
1985 | In the spring of 1985, Geno Auriemma was named head coach of the UConn women's basketball program. In November 1985, UConn women's field hockey won a second NCAA National Championship. UConn Field Hockey, under coach Diane Wright, played in five consecutive NCAA "Final Fours" from 1981-85. |
1989 | Hall of Fame field hockey coach Diane Wright, who led UConn to a pair of NCAA Championships in 1981 & 1985, retired after 15 seasons and was replaced as head coach by Nancy Stevens. |
1991 | Women's basketball won both the regular season and tournament titles in the BIG EAST Conference and advanced to its first-ever NCAA Final Four. |
1995 | The UConn women's basketball program completed a perfect year, posting a 35-0 overall record and winning its first NCAA Division I National Championship in Minneapolis. Geno Auriemma was named National Coach of the Year and Rebecca Lobo was named National Player of the Year. |
1997 | Women's lacrosse and women’s rowing became the 22nd and 23rd varsity sports at UConn. |
2000 | The UConn women's basketball team won its second NCAA Division I National Championship in Philadelphia, finishing the year with a 36-1 overall record. Women's ice hockey became the 24th varsity sport at Connecticut. |
2002 | UConn women's basketball began a remarkable run to three consecutive NCAA National Championships. The 2002 NCAA title was UConn's second unbeaten season, posting a 39-0 record, and led by National Player of the Year Sue Bird. During that season UConn women's basketball set an all-time record to that point in time with 70 consecutive victories. |
2004 | One day after the UConn men won their 2004 NCAA title, the UConn women won their third consecutive NCAA Championship (April 6, 2004), led by National Player of the Year Diana Taurasi. |
2006 | In 2006, UConn women's head basketball coach Geno Auriemma earned his sport's two highest honors when he was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. |
2007 | UConn women's soccer, under head coach Len Tsantiris, earned its 26th consecutive NCAA National Tournament berth, joining North Carolina as the only two schools in the nation to qualify for every NCAA women's soccer tournament since the event was launched (1982-2007). |
2009 | The UConn women's basketball team began a back-to-back NCAA National Championship run in 2008-2009 posting a perfect 39-0 overall record. |
2010 | In 2009-10, UConn women's basketball continued its dominance, winning its second consecutive NCAA National Championship with another 39-0 unbeaten mark (the program's seventh NCAA title in the past 16 years). |
2011 | During the 2010-2011 season, UConn women's basketball set the all-time college basketball record for consecutive victories, extending their three-year winning streak to 90 consecutive victories. |
2012 | In August of 2012, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma, serving as the USA National Team coach, led the United States Women's Basketball squad to the Olympic Gold Medal at the 2012 Summer Games in London. The 12-player squad included six former UConn stars - Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, Maya Moore. |
2013 | In April of 2013, the UConn Women's Basketball program began an unprecedented run to four consecutive NCAA Championships, winning its eighth national title. In the fall of 2013, UConn Women's Field Hockey team won the NCAA National Championship, the first of a pair of back-to-back national titles. |
2014 | The UConn women's basketball program makes it two in a row, winning the 2014 NCAA National Championship with a spotless 40-0 record, the ninth title in school history. On October 17, 2014 the Werth Family UConn Basketball Champions Center was dedicated and officially opened as the new practice and training home for both of UConn's National Championship basketball programs. The $40 million basketball training facility was 100% funded through privately donated contributions. In November 2014, Nancy Stevens and the UConn Women's Field Hockey program won their second consecutive NCAA National Championship. |
2015 | In April 2015, the UConn women's basketball program won its third consecutive NCAA National Championship, the record-tying 10th national title for the Huskies of head coach Geno Auriemma. |
2016 | February: The UConn Women's Indoor Track and Field team won the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship for the second year in succession. April: UConn Women's Basketball pulls off another first - winning its fourth consecutive NCAA National Championship behind the leadership of Brenna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck. August: UConn's Geno Auriemma led the United States Women's Basketball Olympic team to the 2016 Gold Medal - his second as Head Coach of the USA Olympic program. Five of his former UConn players were part of the winning team - Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart. November: UConn Women's Soccer won the American Athletic Conference Tournament title for the second time (2014, 2016). |
2017 | April: UConn Women's Basketball advanced to its 10th consecutive NCAA "Final Four." The 2016-17 season saw the Huskies amass 111-consecutive wins, besting the previous record UConn established from 2008-10 of 89-consecutive victories September: Former UConn All-American Rebecca Lobo was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. October: The UConn Women's Cross Country team won its first American Athletic Conference Championship. November: UConn Women's Field Hockey won its third NCAA National Championship in the past five season (2013, 2014, 2017) while earning its fifth consecutive trip to the Final Four. The UConn coaches - Head Coach Nancy Stevens, Associate Head Coach Paul Caddy, and Assistant Coach Cheri Schulz are named the National Coaching Staff of the Year in guiding UConn to a perfect 23-0 overall record. Stevens, having completed 39 years as a collegiate head coach, is the winningest coach in Division I college field hockey history (662-181-24). December: UConn Women's Basketball Head Coach Geno Auriemma recorded his 1,000 win in his 33rd season leading the Husky program. |
2018 | January: Margaret (Tietjen) Rodriguez was named Head Coach of UConn Women's Soccer. The new Husky head coach was a star at UConn from 1995-98. February: UConn Women's Basketball Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey was named to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. March: The UConn Women's Basketball program advanced to its record-setting 11th consecutive "Final Four." |
We are thrilled to invite our former female athletes back to Storrs for UConn Women in Athletics Weekend – honoring, celebrating, and community building with fellow Huskies.
The weekend will include sport-specific alumni events, a marquee celebration event on Saturday evening, and of course, watching UConn take on the competition in three different sports. Come for the day or the entire weekend! The detailed schedule and more information can be found via the button below.
