The UConn women’s basketball coach met his wife in college and they share three children.

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Geno Auriemma is the coach of UConn Huskies women’s basketball, but his wife is the heart of the team.

The coach has been happily married to Kathy Auriemma for over four decades. In addition to building a life together, they have also been each other’s biggest supporters.

In fact, their romance first started on the basketball court. While attending Montgomery County Junior College, Auriemma was a basketball player and Kathy was a cheerleader. After one of their games, Auriemma drove Kathy home and “the rest is history,” he told Makers.

They tied the knot in 1978 and later welcomed three children together: daughters Alysa and Jenna and son Michael.

While Kathy is a supportive mom of her own children, she has also become like a second mom to some the UConn Huskies players.

“I’m whatever they need me to be,” Kathy told ESPN of her relationship with the women’s basketball players, who affectionately refer to her as Mrs. A.

Here’s everything to know about Auriemma’s wife.

They met in college 

Auriemma and Kathy first met when they were studying at Montgomery County Junior College in December 1972, per his website. At the time, Auriemma was playing for the men’s basketball team, while Kathy was a cheerleader.

While talking with Maker about how their romance came to be, Auriemma recalled that after one game, the whole team was supposed to meet up, but it ended up being just him and Kathy. He noted that she then asked him for a ride home, which he reluctantly agreed to, and “the rest is history.”

They got married in 1978

Auriemma later transferred to West Chester University, ultimately graduating in 1977. Upon his graduation, he was hired as an assistant coach at St. Joseph’s University. The following year, Auriemma marked another career milestone as he married Kathy in 1978, with his website noting they were “broke but madly in love.”

They have three children 

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Auriemma and Kathy are the proud parents of three children: daughters Alysa and Jenna and son Michael. Their daughter Alysa graduated from UConn before moving to N.Y.C. to pursue theater, per her One on One podcast bio. Upon her return to Connecticut, she became an English teacher and currently works at her alma mater Miss Porter’s School where she coaches the basketball team.

In addition to being parents of three, they are also grandparents of three, per Auriemma’s bio on the UConn website. They became first-time grandparents in August 2010 when their daughter Jenna and son-in-law Todd Stigliano had a baby named Christian James Stigliano, as reported by ESPN, and have welcomed two more since.

She ‘held down the fort’ at home as Geno traveled for games

As their father traveled for games during their early childhood years, Alysa recalled to ESPN that her mother “held down the fort” at home.

“She’s a handler, like Scandal’s Olivia Pope,” she noted. “A former English teacher, she knew how to wrangle kids into doing their stuff. Sure, there were times I didn’t do what I was supposed to, but the guilt of not doing it would be so bad that I’d end up apologizing profusely before her yelling ceased. My mom didn’t inspire fear so much as a desire to be good.”

He looks at Kathy for guidance 

While Auriemma has made a name for himself in the realm of college sports, including leading the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team to the Final Four during March Madness, he still heavily relies on his wife. He states on his website that he considers Kathy “his most valued and trusted source of guidance and loyalty.”

She’s the ‘heart’ of the women’s basketball team

Auriemma’s wife is beloved by many on the UConn women’s basketball team. During a feature about Kathy for ESPN, various players discussed the impact she has had on the team.

“When you think of the brains of UConn basketball, you think of coach Auriemma,” former player Stefanie Dolson said. “But when you think of the heart, you think of Mrs. A.”

Other players added that she’s “easy to talk to,” “always there” to check in on them, and has a “unique ability to connect.” Some even noted how she was there for them through sickness and made home-cooked meals for them like a second mother.