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UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma showed remorse for his actions at the end of Friday’s Final Four game against South Carolina, where he and Dawn Staley got into a heated argument.
He began speaking aggressively to her before the conversation progressed and quickly escalated into an apparent shouting match. Auriemma said after the game that he was upset that Staley had apparently not shaken his hand before the game (the two were seen shaking hands before the game, but Auriemma said he waited several minutes before seeing Staley).
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UConn head coach Geno Auriemma watches a play late in the second half of an NCAA college basketball tournament Sweet 16 game against North Carolina in Fort Worth, Texas, March 27, 2026. (LM Otero/AP Photo)
“There is no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma said in a statement posted to social media.
“It’s contrary to what I do and what our standard is here in Connecticut. I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a good relationship with their staff and I sincerely apologize to them.”
Staley addressed the incident in an interview with ESPN immediately afterward.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma reacts to a play during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament Sweet 16 game against North Carolina in Fort Worth, Texas, March 27, 2026. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)
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“I have no idea, but I will tell you this: I am of integrity. I am of integrity,” Staley said. “So if I did something wrong against Geno, I had no idea what I was doing. I think he probably thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the fight. I didn’t know. I went down there for the fight, shook all his staff’s hands. I don’t know what we came up with after the fight, but hey, sometimes things get heated. We move on.”
Meanwhile, Auriemma expressed displeasure with Staley and the refs during an in-game interview on ESPN.
“Their coach is ranting and raving on the sidelines and calling the ref some names you don’t want to hear. And now we’re down 6-0 and I got a kid with a ripped shirt and they’re like, ‘I didn’t see that.’ Come on, man. This is what a national championship,” he told Holly Rowe.
After the game, Auriemma declined to elaborate on the incident.
Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks tussles with Geno Auriemma of the UConn Huskies during the second half of an NCAA Women’s Final Four semifinal game at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona on April 3, 2026. (C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Images via Getty Images)
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“I said what I had to say and … nothing … nothing,” he said when asked what happened to Staley, refusing to tell reporters what he said. “Why would I say that? I said what I said and obviously she didn’t like it. I was just telling the truth.”
South Carolina ended UConn’s perfect season in what was a rematch of last year’s national championship, which the Huskies won. The loss ended UConn’s 54-game winning streak dating back to last season.
