UConn Coach Geno Auriemma is hospitalized

UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma, who has been under the weather since securing his 11th national championship on April 5, was taken to a hospital Saturday and was “resting comfortably,” the school said.

Auriemma, who returned home from Indianapolis with the Huskies on April 6, missed the parade honoring his team in Hartford on April 10, and he was absent from the annual Husky Day event at the Capitol on Wednesday. His illness has been described by school spokesmen as “flu-like symptoms.”

He went to the Mohegan Sun on Thursday for the WNBA draft, in which UConn seniors Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck were taken first, second and third, and he seemed to be recovered.

Auriemma did not speak with reporters at the draft, though he did appear on ESPN’s telecast.

But on Saturday, as he boarded a plane at Bradley International Airport, Auriemma began feeling ill again and decided to leave the plane and seek more medical attention, according to a university statement.

“Coach Auriemma had been ill for the last several days and was brought to the hospital for observation where he is resting comfortably,” the statement said. “The university will have no further comment on this matter and we ask that people please respect the Auriemma family’s privacy.”

Auriemma, 62, keeps a grueling travel schedule. Recruiting takes him all over the country, and his duties for USA Basketball — he is to coach the U.S. Olympic team again this summer — and for Nike take him all over the world.

He has been UConn’s coach since 1985, winning his first championship in 1995 with an undefeated season. The Huskies won 90 consecutive games in 2007-2009, a record for men’s or women’s basketball, and after winning their fourth consecutive championship this month, they have won 75 games in a row.

Auriemma (955-134 at UConn) coached Team USA to a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics.