ESPN’s Jon Gruden Sits Down with UConn’s Geno Auriemma During Women’s Final Four

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ESPN’s Jon Gruden Sits Down with UConn’s Geno Auriemma During Women’s Final Four

Photo of Rachel Margolis Siegal Rachel Margolis Siegal Follow on Twitter April 3, 2015

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Two championship coaches – ESPN Monday Night Football analyst and Super Bowl XXXVII winner Jon Gruden (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and UConn’s Geno Auriemma, seeking his 10th women’s basketball national title – sat down this afternoon in Tampa, Fla., site of the 2015 Women’s Final Four for a candid interview. Portions of the interview will air on Friday’s 6 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter, as well as throughout ESPN’s coverage of the Women’s Final Four.

The conversation spanned many topics, including but not limited to: the comparisons between a point guard and quarterback; the pressure Auriemma is under; John Wooden and Auriemma potentially tying his record 10th title; and the type of player Auriemma recruits.

“Getting two championship coaches together to talk about their craft is compelling to our audience,” said Dave Miller, ESPN, senior coordinating producer. “Leadership, preparation, team-building and motivation are all topics we hope to learn more about.”

“I’ve never met Geno but I’m a huge fan of him and what he has accomplished. I’m interested in coaching and what leads to coaching success,” said Gruden, a Tampa-area resident. “He’s been able to dominate and sustain success for a very long time. I’m particularly interested in hearing how he’s been able to adapt through the years. The NCAA has different rules now than they did 20 years ago. The game is different and the kids are different than they were five, 10, 20 years ago. He’s had to adapt to a lot of different things and he’s still at the top of his game. It’s great to have the opportunity to sit and learn some stuff from him.”

Tickets have been punched to the Women’s Final Four from Amalie Arena in Tampa, featuring the four top seeds in the tournament – UConn, Maryland, Notre Dame and South Carolina. The teams will face off on Sunday, April 5, on ESPN and WatchESPN, beginning with South Carolina vs. Notre Dame at 6:30 p.m., followed by Maryland against UConn at 8:30 p.m. Play culminates with the NCAA Women’s National Championship game on Tuesday, April 7, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and WatchESPN.

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Photo of Rachel Margolis Siegal Rachel Margolis Siegal Follow on Twitter April 3, 2015
Photo of Rachel Margolis Siegal

Rachel Margolis Siegal

A part of the Internal Communications team at ESPN, I began with the network in 2010 as part of the College Sports PR team. Always an avid sports fan and not an athlete – I grew up a huge fan of the Hartford Whalers, while also watching my brother compete at different levels. I became the manager of several high school sports teams and continued that hobby into college. While at Quinnipiac, I worked in the Sports Information Department, which led me to a summer internship at the New Haven Ravens, a AA baseball team, and an eventual job with the Athletic Communications Department at the University of Connecticut. After my five-year stint at Connecticut, I spent six years as Director of Communications at the BIG EAST Conference in Providence, R.I. before joining ESPN.
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