The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public research university in Connecticut. Known as a Public Ivy, UConn was founded in 1881 as a land-grant university, The institution serves more than 30,000 students on its six campuses, including more than 8,000 graduate students in multiple programs.

UConn's main campus is in Storrs, Connecticut. The university's president is Susan Herbst.

UConn is one of the founding institutions of the Hartford, Connecticut/Springfield, Massachusetts regional economic and cultural partnership alliance known as New England's Knowledge Corridor. UConn is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and a member of the Big East Conference.

UConn was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School. It was named after Charles and Augustus Storrs, two brothers who donated the land for the school as well as initial funding. Women began attending classes in 1891 and were officially admitted in 1893, when the name was changed to Storrs Agricultural College and it became Connecticut's land grant college. In 1899, the name changed again to Connecticut Agricultural College; in 1933, to Connecticut State College; and finally in 1939, to the University of Connecticut.

Luigi "Geno" Auriemma (born March 23, 1954 in Montella, Italy) is an American college basketball coach and the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team, which he has led to seven NCAA Division I national championships (in 1995, 2000, 2002–2004, 2009 and 2010). He has won six national Naismith College Coach of the Year awards. Auriemma is also the head coach of the 2009-12 United States women's national team.

He emigrated with his family to Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S. when he was seven years old,. and spent the rest of his childhood there. After graduating from West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 1977, Auriemma was hired as an assistant coach at Saint Joseph's University, where he worked in 1978 and 1979. He then took a two-year absence from college basketball, serving as an assistant coach at his former high school, Bishop Kenrick, before assuming an assistant coaching position with the University of Virginia Cavaliers in 1981. Auriemma became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994, noting in his autobiography that he finally decided to naturalize when his UConn team was slated to tour Italy that summer and he was concerned about potential problems because he had never done any required national service.

Bria Hartley is an American basketball player at the University of Connecticut. She played on the USA Basketball U18 team, where she helped the team win the gold medal and qualify for the 2011 FIBA U19 Women's World Championship.

Hartley started playing basketball at a very young age, and honed her game in her driveway, playing against two older brothers. They pushed her around, but she credits that for making her tougher. Hartley played her high school basketball at North Babylon High in North Babylon, New York, United States. As a senior, she had five triple doubles, and averaged 27 points per game. She won the Gatorade Player of the Year awards for the state of New York for the second year in a row.

As a junior, she was named to the Parade All-America list.

Before her final season began at North Babylon High School, Hartley committed to the University of Connecticut over offers from Duke University, University of Kentucky, University of Tennessee, Georgetown University, University of North Carolina, and the University of Louisville. Stanford University also expressed strong interest.