NCAA Basketball

UConn Women’s Hoops Coach Gets A Call From President Obama After Historic Win (Video)

Last night, the women’s basketball team from the University of Connecticut demolished Florida State 93-62. It was significant, of course, in more than the fact that UConn is looking awfully formidable (again), beating a top 20 team by 31 points, led by 41 points from superstar Maya Moore. No, the most-talked-about aspect of this win was that it was UConn’s 89th in a row. That, of course, bests the 88-game winning streak of the UCLA men’s basketball program in the 1970s.

There’s been much ado over whether it’s appropriate to compare the streaks of a men’s team and a women’s team – to say nothing of the different eras in which each streak was achieved – and ultimately, it’s a pointless exercise anyway. Those UCLA teams put together an amazing streak. This UConn team is putting together an amazing streak, one they have a chance to make even more impressive over the course of this season.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma, as sports figures often do, took a congratulatory phone call from President Barack Obama after last night’s game. As sports figures do not often do, he took the call in the middle of his postgame press conference. Auriemma assured the president he was “not interrupting anything,” then got a free showcase for his silver tongue:

“If I was calling you and you had all those reporters in front of you, you’d be dying to take my phone call, right?”

Apparently, it also popped up during their brief conversation that UConn hasn’t lost since Obama’s inauguration, which, given the current news cycle, feels like it was about 100 years ago. This is a long streak the UConn women have going. Auriemma even got one last zinger in when the two hung up, saying, “That was the new president at the University of Connecticut.” As grating as Auriemma can be, credit where it’s due: that was a great line from the great coach of a great team.