FORT WORTH, TX ― UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma is dancing his way to his 25th Final Four appearance.
After beating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 70-52, at Dickies Arena, UConn broke out in celebration. On the court in front of hundreds of faithful Huskies fans, who stayed to watch the Fort Worth regional trophy ceremony and confetti falling, Auriemma and his players changed into some commemorative gear. As the players put on the customary Final Four hats and T-shirts, Auriemma outshone them all with a cowboy hat.
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The hat, which was a custom gift to the Huskies, was emblazoned with UConn logo. With their hands in the air, mimicking a lasso, the Huskies encouraged their coach to put on the headwear and he happily obliged. Then, Auriemma did something he’s not typically known for and danced. His moves mimicked a cowboy telling his horse to “giddy up,” patting his side in pure jubilation, the longer he danced.
“Seeing him excited and kind of goofy is really good for us, because, I don’t know, he’s not usually like that,” Sarah Strong said postgame. “He’s usually all serious or like anxious, grumpy. Just seeing him let loose and be his true self was really good.”
“I thought that the cowboy hat looked pretty good on him. It looked pretty natural,” Azzi Fudd said. “When he breaks out a dance move, that’s how you know he’s proud (of) you, he’s happy. So it was good to see.”
Auriemma letting loose on one of the biggest stages in women’s college basketball wasn’t by accident. KK Arnold told USA TODAY Sports “he had to” since it was the team’s last day in Texas before heading to Phoenix next week for the Final Four. Arnold said the entire team was encouraging him to put it on.
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“I was actually shocked he pulled out the dance move he did. I was like, ‘OK, I didn’t know that was in his bag,’ but (it’s) a super fun moment like that,” Arnold said.
“He does (dance) a little bit, but we gotta really bring it out of him, and today, it just came easy, of course. We had a great win, a great team win, and not only is he proud of us, we’re always proud of him, the way he just kind of coaches us to be the best version of ourselves. And the result, we get a little dance.”
Guard Ashlynn Shade told USA TODAY she also thought the moment was fun and Auriemma actually putting it on his head was a sight to see. Shade said she believes her coach was enjoying himself after another big win.
“It just shows how much fun this team has, and we’re just really enjoying it all,” Shade said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UConn dominates, then dances —led by Geno Auriemma in a custom cowboy hat
