Are Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers key factors in UConn investing millions more into basketball than football?
The UConn basketball program has been at the top of the nation over the past three decades. The men's team has won six national titles since 1999, including back-to-back wins in 2023 and 2024, while its female counterparts have gained 11 championships between 1995 and 2016.
The national titles won by both teams are among the factors that motivate the university to spend millions on its basketball program. For the women's side, Geno Auriemma's winning tradition and Paige Bueckers' abilities have attracted an enormous number of followers on social media.
Since taking the helm as Huskies coach in 1985, Geno Auriemma has won 11 national titles, including a three-peat between 2002 and 2024 and four straight titles from 2013 to 2016. Auriemma tied Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer for the most wins as a Division I coach for both genders at 1,216 with a win over North Carolina on Friday.
As of Nov. 15, the UConn women's basketball team has generated 461,000 Instagram followers, which is miles away from Iowa's 306,000, LSU's 260,000 and South Carolina's 257,000. The Huskies are also the most followed team on TikTok and X. UConn also has a large following on Facebook behind Iowa.
Paige Bueckers, meanwhile, had a social media reach of three million TikTok and two million Instagram followers. Her following is expected to carry over to the WNBA next season, when she is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft.
Based on the 2023 figures gathered by Sportico, the university spent a total of $24.4 million for the men's and women's basketball programs during the 2022-23 season. The men's team had an operating expense of $13.9 million, while the women's team used $10.5 million of the school's $90.7 million athletic budget.
The decision to spend more on basketball has also resulted in high ticket sales, with $6.3 million for men's basketball and $2.8 million for women's basketball in fiscal year 2023. In total, the UConn men's basketball team had a revenue of $10,630,760 while the women's squad earned $4,430,837 during the 2022-23 season.
Both teams delivered that year, with the men's team winning the national championship. The women's squad, on the other hand, captured the Big East conference tournament double and made the Sweet 16 that season.
In comparison, the UConn football team spent $20.1 million in the 2022-23 season but earned only $6.1 million. Of the revenues, the Huskies accumulated $1,721,094 on ticket sales, with the rest coming from donations ($949,070), miscellaneous ($3,033,006) and conference distributions ($314,394).
Spending for UConn football didn't go well, as it finished 3-9 that season under coach Jim Mora. The Huskies won against Rice, Sacred Heart and UMass.
Paige Bueckers continues great form to start the season, leads UConn to victory over North Carolina
Paige Bueckers continued her great form to begin the 2024-25 women's college basketball season, leading No. 2 seed UConn to a 69-58 win over No. 14 North Carolina on Friday at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Bueckers tallied 29 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 37 minutes of action. The fifth-year senior shot 12-of-21 from the field, including 4-of-8 from the 3-point line.
The 5-foot-11 guard had 16 points in the first quarter, including a triple at the buzzer. The preseason All-American hiked her average to 21.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game in three games.
Up next for Bueckers and the Huskies is a showdown against unbeaten Fairleigh Dickinson (4-0) on Wednesday night. The Knights haven't lost in two away games this season.