University of Connecticut Athletics
Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
In 39Â seasons in Storrs, Hall of Fame associate head coach Chris Dailey has been instrumental in building UConn into an unmatched national power with head coach Geno Auriemma. The duo has led the Huskies to 11 NCAA Championships and 59Â conference titles.
Arriving at Connecticut with Auriemma in 1985, Dailey is the coordinator of UConn’s highly successful recruiting efforts. The duo transformed the program from one that only had one winning season to an annual powerhouse, including 47 All-Americans, 23 Final Fours and six perfect seasons. Dailey served as the program’s primary assistant from 1985-88 before being promoted to associate head coach in 1988.
Dailey was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2018. She is one of the first assistant coaches to earn a spot in the hall of fame. In 2013, Dailey was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She was also selected to the New Jersey Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame in 2002 and was honored with the NJSWA’s Distinguished Service to Basketball Award. Dailey earned the 2019 Joe Lapchick Character Award.
Dailey has stepped in and served as a head coach for the Huskies numerous times, leading the Huskies to a 17-0 record. In 1989, she directed UConn to the BIG EAST Tournament title – the program’s first – while Auriemma served a suspension. She led the team to the 1997 BIG EAST Tournament championship while Auriemma dealt with the death of his father. She filled in for two regular season games vs. Wichita State and Tulsa in the 2018-19 season and one regular season game vs. Oklahoma in 2019-20. Dailey coached UConn in the first two games of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and during a regular season contest at Creighton in 2022. She filled in for four games in the 2022-23 season as Auriemma dealt with the death of his mother.
In addition to her coaching duties, Dailey is involved with numerous regional charitable efforts. She has served as an honorary chair for the Multiple Sclerosis Association’s Connecticut chapter, the Food Allergy Network, March of Dimes-Women in Sports Celebration, Camp Courant and the Manchester Area Conference of Churches. In 1997, she was named the Connecticut Trails Counsel’s Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts Association.
Prior to Connecticut, Dailey served as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Rutgers, from 1983-85. Before that, she was an assistant coach at Cornell (1982-83).
Dailey earned a master’s degree in educational administration from UConn in 1999. In 2005, she was honored with the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Neag School of Education Alumni Society.
A native of New Brunswick, N.J., Dailey competed collegiately for nationally ranked Rutgers from 1978-82. She served as a team captain in her junior and senior seasons. As a senior in 1981-82, Dailey led Rutgers to the AIAW Division I National Championship.
Dailey graduated from Rutgers in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education. She was inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of the 1982 AIAW Championship team.
