Geno still salty about UConn’s loss to South Carolina. Here’s what he’s saying now
It’s been three months since Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma had to be separated following a heated exchange in the final moments of a Final Four matchup in Phoenix.
Despite Staley saying it was “time to turn the page” from the incident back in April, the saga seems to still be in the forefront of Auriemma’s mind. The kerfuffle was back in the news Monday thanks to the Huskies head coach.
Ahead of Auriemma’s Tuesday appearance on ESPN as a WNBA color commentator, Richard Deitsch of the “Sports Media” podcast asked the UConn head coach his opinions on why officiating has become such a “lightning rod issue.” In his answer, Auriemma took issue with the officiating in South Carolina’s 62-48 Final Four win. He compared the physicality of the matchup to a hockey game.
“Obviously, I have a lot of thoughts on it, because we just played in an NCAA semifinal where there was not a foul called against the other team in the entire third quarter in the game that looked like the old Philadelphia Flyers versus the New York Rangers,” Auriemma said.
Auriemma’s first point is correct, UConn was called for six personal fouls during the third quarter compared with zero for South Carolina. In total, USC was called for eight personal fouls in the game, while there were 17 called on UConn.
Auriemma continued in his Monday remarks and said generally officiating is never as good as you want it to be, but it’s also never as bad as you thought it was. In this specific case, Auriemma doesn’t believe the officials who were assigned to the Final Four game should’ve been there.
“ We’ve got a lot of officials, and we had three of them doing the game against us in the semifinal that had no business being in that game, according to where they were rated, right?” Auriemma said. “People get jobs, and you wonder why, and that’s a separate topic. But those officials have a hard job to do, obviously, but they are basically, supposedly, calling the game the way they are directed to call the game.”
The UConn head coach continued, albeit on a bit of a tangent, by saying it’s “bulls--t” when teams/coaches laud how physical their team is.
“People think that showing off how physical your game is is the sign of, like, a badge of honor. Like, yeah, look how tough our game is. Look, how physical it is. It’s bulls--t,” Auriemma said. “They can’t play like that. They can’t play with that. If LeBron goes to the basket and you punch him, he can still get a three-point play, right? If a women’s basketball player who’s not at the rim, not at over the rim, and you hit them, they’re not getting a three-point play, they’re not getting no play.”
A response from Dawn Staley?
Auriemma’s podcast appearance made the rounds on social media Monday afternoon, and it appears to have gotten the attention of Staley.
“Gloves off….” Staley posted to X/Twitter Monday afternoon.
While Staley’s post didn’t mention Auriemma or UConn by name, it’s not a stretch to think the “subtweet” was intended to be directed toward him and his remarks, given the timing.
The “gloves off” phrase typically means polite behavior is being abandoned in an argument or fight, whether it’s verbal or physical. The saying generally holds boxing imagery (as in literally taking the gloves off), but in this case it fits even more perfectly with Auriemma’s hockey comparison.
Staley has largely taken the high road since the Final Four any time the altercation has been addressed.
Near the end of Auriemma’s podcast appearance, he was asked if his relationship was Staley was in a good place.
“Yeah, like, why wouldn’t we be?” Auriemma said. “If I were to tell you, how many times there’s issues between coaches that maybe go unseen that are bubbling below the surface, you’d be shocked. But at the same time, it’s competitive, it’s emotional, you let things interfere with what you’re doing, what you’re trying to do. And I just think that’s human nature, that’s being human, and that doesn’t mean that you’re anything different than you were before that, not at all, not at all.”
This is the second time Auriemma has brought up the Final Four dust-up since April. He did so in May, and there’s a solid shot it will likely come up again in November. South Carolina and UConn will play each other this coming season in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase on Nov. 24 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Geno Auriemma-Dawn Staley Final Four saga ‘cliff notes’
If you’re blissfully unaware, here’s a rundown of everything that happened between Auriemma and Staley in Phoenix a few months ago:
- During a midgame interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe, Auriemma said the Gamecocks were “beating the sh-t out of us” and critiqued Staley’s interactions with the referees.
- In that same interview, Auriemma highlighted a moment where UConn star forward Sarah Strong had her jersey ripped during the game. Strong clarified after the game she ripped it out of frustration. Auriemma disagreed after the game.
- Auriemma and Staley had to be separated in the final moments of the game following a heated verbal exchange.
- The final buzzer sounded and South Carolina went to the locker room with a 62-48 win and a trip to the national title.
- In a postgame interview with ESPN, Staley said she wasn’t sure what Auriemma was mad at.
- Auriemma said during his postgame press conference Staley didn’t shake his hand before the game. When Auriemma was told about video and pictures which showed the two had shaken hands, he alluded to there being another handshake moment that Staley didn’t participate in.
- Auriemma issued a statement apologizing for his actions on the next day but it, notably, didn’t reference Staley by name.
- Staley issued a statement on April 7 saying the two coaches have spoken and it’s “time to turn the page” and keep focus on growing and elevating women’s basketball.
- Auriemma also issued a statement on April 7. This time around he apologizes directly to Staley, her staff and the team.
- In May, Auriemma said, “We’re all human and we all do dumb sh–t.” when he was asked if he wished he’d handled the situation differently. He also said he felt some of the criticism he’d received for the situation was warranted.
- In a July podcast interview, Auriemma took issue with the officiating and seemingly the physicality of the game.
This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Geno still salty about UConn’s loss to South Carolina. Here’s what he’s saying now."
