Geno Auriemma, Dawn Staley have heated exhange after South Carolina beats UConn
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Geno Auriemma was not happy with Dawn Staley following UConn’s loss to South Carolina in the Final Four.
ESPN’s cameras captured a heated postgame exchange between the two coaches. According to reports, Auriemma was upset over a perceived snub of a pregame handshake.
Geno Auriemma exchanged words with Dawn Staley in the final seconds of South Carolina and UConn’s Final Four matchup. pic.twitter.com/S6anlPKqwe
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 4, 2026
“I have no idea. But I’m gonna let you know this: I’m of integrity. I’m of integrity,” Staley said postgame, per CBS Sports. “So if I did something wrong to Geno — I don’t know what I did. I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I didn’t know. I went down there pregame, shook everybody on his staff’s hand. I don’t know what he came with after the game. Sometimes, things get heated. We move on.”
Two legendary coaches meet again #WFinalFour pic.twitter.com/yB1EdTOxTC
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) April 3, 2026
Auriemma maintained that Staley snubbed him of a midcourt pregame handshake and was upset about the incident.
“For 41 years I’ve been coaching and, I don’t know, 25 Final Fours,” he said. “The protocol is before the game, you meet at halfcourt. Anybody see that before? Two coaches meet at halfcourt and they shake hands, correct? Ever see it? They announce it on the loudspeaker. I waited there for like three minutes. So it is what it is.”
Can South Carolina win it all? Dawn Staley’s team has one game left. Predict the championship game on Kalshi!
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
