NASHVILLE — His record ninth N.C.A.A. title secured, Geno Auriemma climbed a ladder Tuesday night, snipped the final strands of the net and pumped it in his fist, literally standing above everyone in women’s basketball.

As Connecticut routed Notre Dame, 79-58, Auriemma and the Huskies (40-0) completed their fifth undefeated season. He now has one title more than his former nemesis, Pat Summitt of Tennessee, and only one fewer than John Wooden, whose pyramid of success brought 10 national titles to the men’s team at U.C.L.A.

A school whose early mission was agriculture, UConn has come to regularly harvest basketball championships. The women’s team again shares a national title with the men, as it did in 2004. Since 1999, the Huskies men and women have made a combined 17 appearances at the Final Four. Duke is next with eight.

For a night, at least, no one worried that the Huskies needed a more substantive football league than the fledgling American Athletic Conference to continue to succeed in basketball.