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Mohegan Sun Hires Former UConn Star To Head WNBA Franchise

Newly hired Connecticut Sun WNBA President Jennifer Rizzotti receives a shirt from Mohegan Sun President and General Manager Jeff Hamilton.
Brian Scott-Smith
/
WSHU Public Radio
Newly hired Connecticut Sun WNBA President Jennifer Rizzotti receives a shirt from Mohegan Sun President and General Manager Jeff Hamilton.

Former UConn women’s basketball star Jennifer Rizzotti has been officially welcomed this week as the new president of Connecticut Sun, the WNBA franchise owned by Mohegan Sun.

Despite her new job, Rizotti remains an assistant coach to the USA Women’s Olympic basketball team and said she’s still going to the Tokyo Olympics later this year.

“You know in this day and age of a year of COVID, we’ve all learned how to work remotely and Zoom meetings and stay connected in different ways. So, certainly I’ll have many opportunities to stay connected to the staff and to the team and just make sure that I’m giving what I can 100% of the time, but also fulfilling my dream of being an Olympic basketball coach,” Rizotti said.

Rizzotti was the point guard on UConn's first national championship team and later came back to Connecticut to coach at the University of Hartford for 17 seasons.

The Connecticut Sun will open the season on May 14 in Atlanta.

An award-winning freelance reporter/host for WSHU, Brian lives in southeastern Connecticut and covers stories for WSHU across the Eastern side of the state.