The other coach in Storrs with 11 national titles, Chris Dailey, is never in the background.

As she was leading her team to a fourth national championship in a row, Breanna Stewart was continually seated under the spotlight.

The best player in college basketball was the face of the 2015-16 UConn Huskies, answering one question after another and often answering the same question multiple times. She spoke with humor and intelligence to ESPN, she was patient and calm with the national media, and she juggled demands with maturity.


Four years after arriving as a shy teenager, Stewart was leaving UConn as a poised adult.

"That's all Chris Dailey," Heather Stewart said.

Like so many parents before her, Heather Stewart and her husband, Brian, sent their daughter to Storrs to play basketball at UConn and watched their child turn into an adult under the watchful eye of Dailey. She has been at Geno Auriemma's side since the duo came to Storrs in 1985, and she continues to play a significant role in a program celebrating its 11th national title.

Auriemma, the Hall of Fame coach, now has more NCAA titles than John Wooden. He is regarded as the best coach in the history of his sport and among the best in any sport.

Yet he has always said the program would not be where it is without Dailey. She is the glue that holds it together.

"There's no detail that goes unnoticed," Auriemma said. "Whether it's a scouting report of tomorrow's game … whether it's a recruiting thing, whether it's something in practice that we have to do, whether it's an appearance that we have to make, whether it's a meeting that we have to be at. Something with the administration. Something with alumni. … It doesn't matter what it is, whatever it is that we have to do, there's absolutely no detail that goes unnoticed, unchecked. And it's been like that for 30 years. And it's unwavering."

Program Foundation Geno And CD Laid At UConn In 1985 Is Holding Up Just Fine

The foundation Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey laid at UConn in 1985 is holding up nicely.

Dailey, 56, is a New Jersey native who played at Rutgers and later was an assistant coach there. Auriemma met her at a coaching clinic when he was an assistant at Virginia and asked her to join him when he landed the UConn job.

She accepted, intrigued by the idea of building a program from the ground up. From the outside, there's a yin and yang quality to the partnership. Auriemma is loose and unaffected, Dailey is organized and earnest. Auriemma is all big picture, Dailey sweats the minute-by-minute details. They're good cop and bad cop to the players.

There's some truth to it all, Dailey recently said. They complement each other and it was obvious early in the partnership that each would play a certain role.

"We've always had that but not in the way that people think," Dailey said. "We're smart enough to know that it's not helpful to have two people getting on the same person constantly. … We balance that out. It's hard. But we don't want [players] to feel like they're totally getting beaten up. We try to balance it. If he's on somebody, I'm more positive."

That wasn't necessarily planned. The dynamic was born 31 years ago and it has worked. Even now, Dailey or Auriemma might be more positive with a player if, say, assistants Shea Ralph or Marisa Moseley are critical.

Again, balance.

"You're conscious of it," Dailey said.

Dailey and Auriemma agreed early on that players should carry themselves a certain way on and off the court. They're required to dress appropriately to team functions, they must stand and make eye contact when being interviewed, tattoos must be covered on the court, nail polish is not allowed during the season, and jerseys should be tucked in, even during practice.


The rules are enforced by Dailey, although the seniors tend to keep the underclass players on point. It took a few years, but that system has worked since early in the Auriemma-Dailey regime.

"It didn't take long for Meghan Patterson and Debbie Baer and Wendy Davis to become leaders and to understand and to have a certain expectation level," Dailey said.

Dailey, who makes $253,848 a year according to UConn, said many of the ex-Huskies carry the traditions with them beyond Storrs. She smiles when she sees Kalana Greene run hard off the court in the WNBA. "Just the way we do," Dailey said. "Some things they take with them, some things they don't. But I think they see value in it."

The rules and guidelines help create a team-first culture. But Dailey and Auriemma don't treat each player the same.

Dailey said that while generations of players are different, there are common threads. Some kids need prodding, some need nurturing. Her job is to figure out how to reach each player.

"People are still people," she said. "It's just a matter of figuring out how do I get to you. How do I get to Stewie?"

She got to Stewie during the recruiting process. They bonded over a shared love for the Jets and Stewart's love for "Jersey Shore," something that resonated with a woman born and raised in Jersey.

As a freshman, Stewart relied heavily on Dailey's support. Four years later, Dailey is sending Stewart off.

"CD, she's meant a lot to me," Stewart said. "She deserves a lot of credit for helping me become who I've become. My freshman year, she was the one who was constantly with me, working with me to get through things, helping me get better. … She'll help me with anything she can."

After so much success, questions about her career path still follow Dailey. She was a candidate for the head coaching job at Rutgers in 1995 and has been mentioned for other jobs over the years, but she's still at UConn.

Last week she was asked why she's never pursued a head coaching job.

"As you get older, there's nothing wrong with appreciating where you are and loving what you do," Dailey said. "And I love what I do. I love the impact I can have on the kids on our team. I love the University of Connecticut. I love the state. I love everything about it. So while we're now in an era when everything is supposed to be greener on the other side, I think it's OK to be happy where you are and I'm very happy."