Auriemma Joins State vs. UConn Budget Battle

STORRS, CT — University of Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma has joined the budget battle between school officials and state government and it's in the form of a hard, moving screen.

The hall of fame coach on Wednesday provided the voice for video promoting UConn in a direct shot at a state budget approved over the weekend with more than $300 million in cuts to the university. The video was the latest ion the #saveuconn campaign.

Auriemma said he walks the campus "every day" and marvels at the same — if not better — worth ethic and success as his teams that have won 11 national titles.

"We're not going to apologize for being great," he said in his matter-of-fact news conference tone.

Check out the video here.

And here:

UConn officials on Tuesday released more details on what the institutional budgets might look like if the state budget passed over the weekend stands.

UConn President Susan Herbst on Saturday called the budget "appalling" and called on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to stay with a predicted veto. The debate and voting over a $40.7 billion two-year state budget began Friday night and spilled into Saturday morning.

UConn officials said the fiscal year 2018 budget has a bottom line of $388,561,273 for the university, but the new state budget trims $75,895,775 off that, or 20 percent. UConn Health would lose $48,743,108, or 21 percent with the new budget. With the same bottom lines the following year, the reductions would be 28 and 32 percent, respectively, UConn officials said. In all, the state budget slashes $308,827,301 from UConn over two years, school officials said.

Herbst included a "partial list" of what the budget approved by legislators would mean for UConn:

• The closure of regional campuses and multiple academic departments and potentially even schools and colleges
• The closure of UConn Health, or "large parts of it"
• Elimination of "scores of majors and graduate programs"
• "Dramatically larger" classes and waiting lists "that will make it challenging for many students to graduate in four years"
• Major reductions to need- and merit-based financial aid for students across the board;
• "Devastating cuts" to scientific and medical research programs
• Reduction of UConn police and fire services as well as the elimination of most student health and mental health services, and other student support programs
• Elimination of many Division I Athletics programs
• Elimination of international programs
• "Dramatic reductions" to fundraising efforts and philanthropic giving

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Photo Credit: UConn