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Alexa Philippou
Multiple Authors
FORT WORTH, Texas — Geno Auriemma, the coach for UConn women’s basketball, sharply criticized the NCAA’s choices regarding the women’s basketball tournament. On Saturday, he remarked, “I just don’t understand some of the decisions that are made about our game when we’re trying to grow the goddamn game.”
Auriemma, celebrated as a 12-time national champion and the most successful coach in the sport, commenced his news conference the day preceding his team’s Elite Eight confrontation with Notre Dame by reiterating his dissatisfaction with the tournament’s current two-site regional arrangement. He had initially raised this concern on Friday after the Huskies’ 63-42 victory against No. 4 seed North Carolina, and he again voiced his alarm over the NCAA supplying new, unseasoned equipment for regional games.
Auriemma queried, “Does anybody who makes these decisions ever ask the coaches and the players, ‘Hey, does this work? Do you guys do this during the regular season? Is this normal?'”
The coach has been vocal in his disapproval of the tournament’s transition from a four-site to a two-site regional format since its implementation in 2023. The NCAA informed ESPN’s Michael Voepel earlier this month that the two-site configuration is secured for at least five additional seasons.
Auriemma highlighted that with eight teams sharing a single arena, each program receives less practice time within the main venue and on the actual game court. For instance, the Huskies’ shootaround on Friday did not take place at Dickies Arena.
“Know what time our shootaround was yesterday?” Auriemma questioned on Saturday. “6:20, I think, for half an hour. This morning I just saw Notre Dame leaving, so they had media this morning. Their practice time is tonight at 5:30. … You know what time our practice time is? 6:30 tonight.”
Duke coach Kara Lawson also expressed her desire for extended shootaround periods for participating teams.
“I think you should only get a half-hour the day before the game [at the arena] and you should get an hour the day of the game of the shootaround because that’s a normal shootaround for us,” Lawson explained. “So on your game day, everybody kind of gets their normal thing.
“… I mean, two regionals, I think the arena thing is the thing that’s hard. It’s not that we’re in the same city. It’s that we don’t get long enough practice or shootaround times in the venue for your most important games of the season.”
The NCAA’s objective in switching to a two-regional format was to foster a more vibrant atmosphere with enhanced attendance figures, and the organization has claimed this system has achieved the highest tournament attendance in history. Lynn Holzman, NCAA vice president for women’s basketball, communicated to ESPN that the NCAA currently believes the advantages of this format surpass its drawbacks.
Auriemma cited Friday’s total attendance of 18,000 across both regionals, noting that neither game in Fort Worth—the regional closest to the Huskies as the No. 1 overall seed—nor those in Sacramento, California, approached a sellout. The coach has advocated for more regional sites not only to distribute teams but also to make the tournament more accessible to a wider array of fans in various locations.
His opening statement on Saturday also detailed six of the 3-point shooting performances from the previous day’s Sweet 16 games: 4-for-20 (UConn), 4-for-22 (North Carolina), 1-for-17 (Notre Dame), 5-for-18 (Vanderbilt), 4-for-16 (UCLA), and 7-for-26 (Duke)—figures he attributes to teams shooting on brand-new basketball hoops.
“How many arenas are we going to sell out with that bulls—?” Auriemma stated.
“I think they bring in new baskets, new basketballs right out of the box,” he further elaborated. “Got people dribbling the ball off their feet. You got people missing layups all over the place. You bounce the ball and it goes up to the ceiling. There’s just no concept of how basketball is played.
“Not that I have any of the answers. Believe me, I just have questions.”
For Auriemma, the fundamental issues are his perception that the NCAA fails to adequately consider coaches’ input and that the organization needs to “give [itself] an out” if a system proves ineffective.
UConn athletic director David Benedict used X to publicly support his coach.
“[The] NCAA continues to make decisions that clearly don’t represent what’s best for the student athletes!” Benedict declared in a post.
UCLA coach Cori Close admitted she initially supported the two-regional system but now believes it warrants reevaluation.
“I think I understand exactly why we did this at the time, but I also think we have to be constantly nimble to go, does this serve our game best now? And is there any small tweaks that would make it run more efficiently?” Close commented. “It’s a really hard combination to find.”
Huskies players underscored that any format-related challenges do not excuse subpar performance and that all teams face the same unique circumstances.
“I would just say it’s not ideal,” senior guard Azzi Fudd explained. “The schedule, waking up early to do media and then can’t come back to this arena until later, just little things like that. But everyone’s trying to figure that out right now. Every team is going through that. There’s no excuse in that. So we’ll figure it out. We’re making it work, but it definitely isn’t the most ideal setup.”
Junior guard Ashlynn Shade added: “I did think it was a little frustrating… it’s a new gym, new balls, new atmosphere. It is kind of frustrating when you don’t get that much time [to get up enough shots on the game court].”
Before Auriemma’s comments on Saturday, Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo was asked if she had noticed anything unusual with the rims on Friday.
“Oh my goodness. We were like 1-for-[17] from 3,” Hidalgo stated. “We won the game, thank God… The rims were definitely a little tight and new.”
While Irish coach Niele Ivey spoke prior to Auriemma, she did not offer her views on the matter. Auriemma believes other coaches share his sentiments.
“I think there’s a frustration,” he shared. “Hopefully I’m speaking for the other coaches. Some coaches might think I’m full of it. And this is not about UConn. I hope everybody understands that. … I think there is a level of frustration right now among the coaches that’s higher than any time I’ve ever seen it.”
ESPN’s Kendra Andrews and Charlotte Gibson contributed to this report.