UConn's Geno Auriemma Makes His Opinion of Unrivaled Extremely Clear
The Unrivaled Women's Basketball League begins its inaugural season in less than two weeks, as the league's first slate of games tips off on January 17.
On May 30, 2024, it was announced that UConn Huskies legendary coach Geno Auriemma was one of the "all-star group of investors" from the league's seed round of investing, which is another way of saying the first round of investors.
Auriemma's willingness to invest proves that he believes in this new league. But he detailed his opinion about Unrivaled during a January 4 media availability session.
“I think it’s a great concept," Auriemma said when asked what he believes Unrivaled can do for the sport of women's basketball, per The UConn Daily YouTube account. "Obviously, I was thrilled to be asked to participate in it. The level of play that these players bring, the level of competition that is going to be evident when they play, the fact that a lot of people tuning in know something of these players that maybe haven't seen enough of them. That will certainly help grow their individual brand, who they are, but also the WNBA.
"So I think the popularity of who these women is going to carry over into next summer, because they certainly have the biggest names in the league playing,” he continued. "It's another push towards getting the best players to stay here, and not have to travel overseas to supplement their incomes.
"And you can't discount, too, the competitive level is going to help them improve. And I think, going into next summer is a huge moment for the league. And the people that had the idea about this league, [Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier], and their respective groups, brilliant," he added.
"I think it's a brilliant idea, and I'm excited to support it, and I just think it's going to be a home run for everybody involved," Auriemma concluded.
While we'd argue that they didn't get every one of the WNBA's biggest names to join, Unrivaled certainly boasts a star-studded group of players and we agree that the league appears poised to be a home run.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.