"We got the tush push": Geno Auriemma responds with sarcasm as NCAA set to implement new college basketball rules during 2025-26 season 

UConn coach Geno Auriemma lost a host of talent to the WNBA via the draft just a few weeks after leading the Huskies to a national championship.

On Tuesday, Auriemma attended the Dallas Wings' 80-71 win over the Golden State Vakyries pitting former UConn stars Paige Bueckers and Kaitlyn Chen against each other in the WNBA.

During the media availability portion of the "Geno For the Kids" charity golf tournament, Auriemma who has criticized the NCAA in the past, sarcastically addressed the new coach's challenge rule set to go into effect next season.

"You can challenge the calls now, so I don't know if you have to have a flag, instead of water bottles I'm gonna throw flags on the court," Auriemma said. "Yeah, we got the tush push, we kept that. I went to those meetings to make sure we pushed that through."

(from 6:15 mark onwards)

According to the new NCAA rules ahead of next season, coaches will be able to challenge officiating calls at any point of the game including goaltending, out-of-bound calls and whether secondary defenders are in the restricted arc.

Geno Auriemma optimistic about stars' performances

Geno Auriemma lost key UConn stars Paige Bueckers and Kaitlyn Chen to the WNBA and ahead of next season, he proclaimed his optimism about the level of the Huskies' next wave of stars.

During the same media availability, Auriemma also highlighted the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player Azzi Fudd and 2025 WBAC Freshman of the Year Sarah Strong's performances in training.

“I gotta tell you, I’ve never seen Azzi this aggressive, this engaged in wanting to do a lot, and that’s probably stood out more than anything else,” Auriemma said. “Her personality is such that she likes being in the background to somebody else, whoever that may be. She likes when there’s a lot of other good players on the team … but what happened in the Final Four I think may have changed her. "I hope it has, anyway. She’s just more aggressive, more assertive, more ‘If I don’t like the way things are going, I want to take over. Between (Azzi) and Sarah, the two of them have had some great battles on the court. It’s been really fun to watch," he added.

After winning his 12th national championship in April, Geno Auriemma already declared his willingness to pursue more glory and rubbished claims about his impending retirement ahead of next season.

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Edited by Veer Badani