The Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year award was established in 1995 to recognize the best women's college basketball player of the year, as voted upon by the Associated Press (AP). [1]
Luigi "Geno" Auriemma is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the UConn Huskies women's basketball team. Since becoming head coach in 1985, he has led UConn to 17 undefeated conference seasons, of which six were undefeated overall seasons, with 11 NCAA Division I national championships, the most in women's college basketball history, and has won eight national Naismith College Coach of the Year awards. Auriemma was the head coach of the United States women's national basketball team from 2009 through 2016, during which time his teams won the 2010 and 2014 World Championships, and gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, going undefeated in all four tournaments. Auriemma was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Kimberly Duane Mulkey is an American college basketball coach and former player. Since 2021, she has been the head coach for Louisiana State University's women's basketball team. A Pan-American gold medalist in 1983 and Olympic gold medalist in 1984, she is the first coach in NCAA basketball history to win national championships as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. Since the inception of the NCAA women's tournament in 1982, Mulkey has participated as a player or coach every year except 1985 and 2003.
The women's basketball rivalry between the Lady Volunteers of the University of Tennessee and the UConn Huskies of the University of Connecticut is one of the fiercest rivalries in college basketball, and could be considered one of the first to reach national consciousness out of the women's game. The matchup features two long-tenured and media savvy coaches generally acknowledged among the top five ever in their sport, over two dozen players who went on to play in the WNBA, and two programs that have combined for 19 national championships. Their head-to-head matchups were consistently the top-rated games in the college women's field.
The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State University coach Lily Margaret Wade. The award debuted in 1978 as the first–ever women's national player of the year award in college basketball. State Farm Insurance sponsors the award, and the trophy is presented at the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) National Convention.
The UConn Huskies women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. They currently play in the Big East Conference.
Brittney Yvette Griner is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national basketball team and a six-time WNBA All-Star. She was additionally named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
The Associated Press College Basketball Coach of the Year award was established in 1967 to recognize the best men's college basketball coach of the year, as voted upon by the Associated Press (AP). A parallel award for women's coaches was added in 1995. The 2011 women's award, shared by three coaches, was notable as the first shared AP award in any college sport.
The 2009–10 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2009–2010 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Huskies were coached by Geno Auriemma, as the Huskies played their home games at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the XL Center located in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of the Big East Conference and won their seventh NCAA championship against Stanford on April 6, 2010.
The 2010–11 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2010–2011 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Huskies were coached by Geno Auriemma, and played their home games at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of the Big East Conference and attempted to win their eighth NCAA championship. The UConn team had won the last two national championships, and extended a win streak to an NCAA record 90 consecutive games.
The 2011–12 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2011–2012 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Huskies were coached by Geno Auriemma, and played their home games at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The Huskies are a member of the Big East Conference.
The 2012–13 Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2012–13 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Huskies, coached by Geno Auriemma, played their home games at two different venues—the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. Connecticut was a member of the Big East Conference in the league's final season before its split along football lines into the football-sponsoring American Athletic Conference and the new, non-football Big East. Connecticut, as an FBS football school, became a member of The American, which retained the charter of the original Big East.
The 2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November and ended with the Final Four in Tampa, Florida, April 5–7. Practices officially began on October 3.
The 2015 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game was the final game of the 2015 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, played to determine the national champion for the 2014–15 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Connecticut Huskies defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win their third consecutive championship. Breanna Stewart was voted Most Outstanding Player for the third straight time. Head coach Geno Auriemma tied John Wooden's record winning ten NCAA national championships.
The 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began on November 11, 2016 and ended with the Final Four title game in Dallas on April 2, 2017, won by South Carolina. Practices officially began on September 30, 2016.
Paige Madison Bueckers is an American college basketball player for the UConn Huskies of the Big East Conference.
Two human polls make up the 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings, the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll, in addition to various publications' preseason polls. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season ended March 12, 2020. As a result, the NCAA did not bestow a national championship. Instead, that title was de facto bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.
The 2020–21 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Huskies, led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma in his 36th season at UConn, split their home games between Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center and were members of the Big East Conference, which they joined for women's basketball that season. UConn was previously a member of the original Big East Conference from 1979 through 2013, and one of the original women's basketball teams of that league in 1982.
The 2021–22 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Huskies, led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma in his 37th season at UConn, split their home games between Harry A. Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center and were members of the Big East Conference, which they joined for women's basketball the previous season. UConn was a member of the original Big East Conference from 1979 through 2013, and one of the original women's basketball teams in that conference in 1982.
Nika Mühl is a Croatian professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball as a point guard for the UConn Huskies. Twice named Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year while in college, Mühl is UConn's all-time leader in career assists, with 686, and also holds the program records for most assists in a single season and in a single game. She was selected 14th overall by Seattle in the 2024 WNBA draft.
The 2023–24 UConn Huskies women's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut (UConn) during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Huskies, led by Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma in his 39th season at UConn, split their home games between Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on their campus in Storrs, Connecticut, and the XL Center in Hartford. UConn is a member of the Big East Conference, which it rejoined in the 2020–21 season; it had been a member of the original Big East Conference from 1979 through 2013, and one of the original women's basketball teams in that conference in 1982.