ESPN reporter blasts Tennessee women's basketball exodus
In a now-deleted post the day after the NCAA women's basketball national championship game, ESPN reporter and broadcaster Holly Rowe took aim at Tennessee athletic director Danny White in a now-deleted social media post.
“What Danny White is allowing to happen to @LadyVol_Hoops is making me so sad," Rowe wrote on X. "Gut-wrenching to watch him let one of the greatest programs in women’s sports history disintegrate. I am devastated."
Rowe's reaction came at a time when all eight potential returning players for Kim Caldwell's squad announced their intention to enter the transfer portal, with star guard Talaysia Cooper being the most notable entrant. Freshman guard Jaida Civil was the final member of the team to bail out.
In an interview with Front Office Sports, Rowe explained why she made the post and later chose to delete it. She woke up after the national championship game to the news that Civil's departure left Tennessee with an empty roster and felt the need to comment.
"I know better than to tweet when you’re emotional," Rowe told Front Office Sports. "I took it down because I just thought it was getting turned into something yucky, but I do stand by what I said. I do feel very sad about what’s happening there."
Results do not shine a kind light on Tennessee's progression since legendary coach Pat Summitt's retirement in 2012. After making the Elite Eight in three of Holly Warlick's first four seasons, the Lady Vols have not been back in the nine NCAA Tournaments held since. While Tennessee women's basketball has slightly improved since White's arrival in January 2021 with three second-weekend trips in five full seasons in charge, the program is not near returning to its prior heights.
Pinning the blame on White comes at a time where spending allocation is an important part of any athletic director job. Per Tennessee's 2025 NCAA financial report, the athletic department spent $23.2 million on men's basketball for the 2024-25 academic year and $9.1 million on women's basketball. In comparison, South Carolina spent $13.1 million on women's basketball during that same year as it made the national championship game.
While name, image and likeness payments are not included in the NCAA's reporting, the university spending numbers give an idea into which schools are making an effort and which schools are not. Tennessee will not return to the Final Four without additional institutional investment.
As head coach, Kim Caldwell shoulders responsibility as well. She admitted to giving up on her system late in the season and it leading to the end-of-season losing streak after falling to NC State in the NCAA Tournament first round. Caldwell's poor player management skills and apparent lack of confidence contributed to the mass exit.
But it was White who put Caldwell in one of the toughest jobs in women's basketball with just one year of Division I experience. It was White who made decisions on where money went in the organization.
Now, it has to be White who provides funding and infrastructure to help Caldwell dig herself out of this hole, and Rowe was spot-on in identifying his role in the mess that is the Tennessee women's basketball program.