One of the most iconic rivalries in sports has some new life to it after Lady Vols basketball beat UConn last season in coach Kim Caldwell’s debut in the historic series.
No. 15 Tennessee heads to Hartford, Connecticut, to take on the No. 1 Huskies at PeoplesBank Arena on Feb. 1 (noon ET, FOX). UConn, the reigning national champion, is the last undefeated team in the country at 22-0.
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The rivalry exploded in the late 1990s and early 2000s, so much that it become catalyst for the growth of women’s basketball. The two teams sold out arenas and drew the eyes of the nation whenever legendary Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma went head-to-head.
UConn leads the series 17-10 after Tennessee beat the Huskies last season for the first time since 2007. The Huskies won the first four meetings when the series was renewed in the 2020-21 season.
The birth of the Tennessee-UConn rivalry
The origin of the rivalry is one fitting for the historic nature it took on over the years. Summitt had built the Lady Vols into a national powerhouse by the time the 1994-95 season rolled around, having won the first three of her eight national championships.
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Auriemma had UConn on the rise, hunting his first national title. The Huskies were ranked No. 2 right behind the No. 1 Lady Vols when the undefeated teams first met on Jan. 16, 1995, and UConn upset Tennessee 77-66 in Storrs. The Huskies proved that wasn’t a fluke when they beat the Lady Vols again in the national championship game to go 35-0.
Tennessee and UConn met every season at least once, if not twice, from that point on.
Lady Vols make history with three-peat
The Lady Vols would go on to lose a third straight game against UConn to start the rivalry, falling 59-53 in Knoxville during the 1995-96 season.
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But Tennessee won when it mattered that season. The Lady Vols beat UConn 88-83 in overtime in the Final Four to advance to the national championship game. Tennessee beat Georgia to win its first of three straight NCAA titles, becoming the first team ever to accomplish the feat.
The Lady Vols lost the regular-season matchup on the road during the 1996-97 season, but once again won when it mattered in the tournament. Tennessee won 91-81 in the Elite Eight en route to its second straight title.
The Lady Vols won the next two games in the series, both regular-season matchups during the undefeated 1997-98 season and the 1998-99 season.
Tennessee loses six straight during UConn three-peat
It wasn’t long until UConn completed its own three-peat of championships, winning the 2002, 2003 and 2004 NCAA titles.
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The Lady Vols and Huskies squared off twice in each of those seasons, once in the regular season and once in the NCAA Tournament. UConn won all six games, which is the longest winning streak in the series.
The Huskies knocked off Tennessee in the Final Four the first year, and then they beat the Lady Vols in the national championship game the next two seasons.
In total, Tennessee and UConn played in the national championship game four times, the other meeting in 2000, and the Huskies won all four NCAA titles.
The end of the series under Pat Summitt
The Lady Vols won the next three games after UConn’s three-peat, which was capped by a 30-point performance and a dunk from Tennessee legend Candace Parker.
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Those would end up being the final matchups between Summitt and Auriemma.
After the 2006-07 season, Summitt canceled the series after accusing UConn of recruiting violations. In a letter to the SEC, UT accused the Huskies of 11 recruiting violations in 2006. UConn officials acknowledged they self-reported a secondary violation when they set up a tour of ESPN for Maya Moore on a recruiting visit.
Summitt retired in 2012 and died in 2016.
The new era of the Lady Vols-UConn rivalry
The historic rivalry was renewed with a home and home series beginning in the 2019-20 season. The series was renewed under former Tennessee coach Holly Warlick, who was fired in 2019 before the games were played.
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Former Lady Vols coach Kellie Harper was at the helm for the first four matchups of the new era of the rivalry. UConn won all four games, and the only matchup within 15 points was a 67-61 loss in the 2020-21 season.
The series had a one-year hiatus due to scheduling conflicts and returned last season. The current game contract is for two games, the second of which is being play this season.
Tennessee notched its first win in the new era of the rivalry last season, beating the Huskies 80-76 at home. Caldwell led the Lady Vols on the sidelines 17 days after giving birth to her son.
Cora Hall is the University of Tennessee women’s athletics reporter for Knox News. Email: cora.hall@knoxnews.com; X: @corahalll; Bluesky: @corahall.bsky.social. Support strong local journalism and unlock premium perks: subscribe.knoxnews.com/offers
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Lady Vols vs UConn rivalry plus history of Pat Summitt, Geno Auriemma
