Atlanta ? Tennessee’s Pat Summitt is the stern disciplinarian with an icy glare, yet her players consider her a surrogate mother.

Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma is the ultimate agitator, a wisecracking needler who enjoys zinging friend and foe alike. Who else would call Summitt’s program the “Evil Empire?”

Different personalities to be sure, but two intensely competitive coaches with the same goal. Their teams meet tonight to decide the national championship in women’s basketball, the latest installment of the sport’s hottest rivalry.

Tennessee (33-4) has six titles but none since 1998. Connecticut (36-1) has won two of the last three championships and three overall.

“Strictly from good theater, you couldn’t ask for a better matchup,” Auriemma said.

That theater extends to the coaching rivalry. Both insist they don’t dislike each other. They even chatted for 15 minutes or so Monday when they crossed paths in the Georgia Dome.

But friends? Hardly. Summitt invited Villanova coach Harry Perretta and his team — the only one to beat UConn this season — to her house for a cookout before the Mideast Regional in Knoxville, Tenn. The East Tennessee mountains would turn into flatland before Auriemma secured such an invite.

“We’re not talking on the phone every week,” Summitt said. “As a matter of fact, we don’t talk on the phone. But I would just say that you have a great rivalry and certainly a coach that I respect tremendously.”

Auriemma caused a stir when he needled Perretta, one of his good friends, over his relationship with Summitt, saying the Villanova coach had “dumped me for the Evil Empire.”

Hey, Auriemma pleaded, lighten up. He was just having fun.

“I live in Connecticut and I’m a Red Sox fan,” Auriemma said. “If you talk about Tennessee, they are the Yankees and Pat is George Steinbrenner. We make fun of it.

“There is nothing evil about them — unless you live in Connecticut. Her program speaks for itself and her reputation certainly speaks for itself. Throwing snowballs is part of what you do in a tournament. We are just throwing a couple of snowballs at each other.”

Summitt’s reaction to how she was characterized?

“Well, I have been called a lot worse in my career,” she said.

That’s the thing about Auriemma. It’s hard to tell sometimes when he’s joking and when he’s serious. Junior guard Morgan Valley said she didn’t get it straight until her third season with the Huskies.

“He would say stuff and I would cry,” Valley said. “That’s the one thing you never want to do. You never want to let him see you cry.”