The legendary coach said the two-region setup is one of the negatives of the 2026 tournament.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma interrupted his business of preparing his players for their Elite Eight game against Notre Dame to give the NCAA the business on Saturday.
Auriemma did not use his team’s media session to talk about the Sunday matchup with the Fighting Irish as much as he did his feelings about the NCAA and its scheduling for the Women’s Basketball Tournament. He repeated his unhappiness with the two-region setup instead of the traditional four, bemoaning the schedule and subsequent impact on both players and attendance. He surmises that a four-region system would have drawn more than the 18,800 who turned out, combined, at the two sites.
He also took issue with the use of new basketballs and new rims, which he blamed for less-than-typical player performance.
And he didn't mince words.
“How many arenas are we going to sell out with that bull----?” the coach asked out loud.
From Fort Worth to Sacramento
UConn is one of eight teams assigned to play regional competition in Fort Worth, Texas. Eight others are in Sacramento, Calif. With the crowded field, the teams have had to split up their media sessions and their practice times, for starters, with the court being used for twice as many games as in a four-regional system.
The two-tournament format has been in place since 2023 and is expected to remain until 2031.
“Know what time our shootaround was yesterday? 6:00 in the morning. 6:20, I think, for half an hour,” he said.
“This morning I just saw Notre Dame leaving, so they had media this morning. Their practice time is tonight at 5:30. What did you have to ask them this morning that you didn't ask them last night? Or us? You know what time our practice time is? 6:30 tonight.
“So, we had to get our kids up, come over here. You already knew who we were playing last night, but we can't get on the court, and neither can the other teams.”
Input from coaches
With 41 years on the job, 12 national championships and the most wins of any coach in Division I, Auriemma has the credibility to take a stand with the NCAA. But he said the organization doesn’t really listen to input.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma speaks Saturday during a news conference ahead of his team's Women's NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game against the Notre Dame on Sunday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images“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?’”
He wants coaches and players to be part of the answers, suggesting a survey of maybe 30 teams that are regular participants in the tournament. And a commitment by the NCAA to listen and heed the advice.
“The NCAA sends representatives to schools, to our school every year, at the end of the tournament. What would you change? What do you think works? What do you think doesn't work? That's been going on for about eight or nine years, and nothing changes. It's always the same thing. So, I think there's a frustration,” he said.
“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. This is not about us, because you know, we've managed to go to the Final Four and win national championships no matter where they're played, when they're played, what time they're played, whatever.
“I think there is a level of frustration right now among the coaches that's higher than any time I've ever seen it.”
Auriemma backed up his thoughts with some hard numbers, starting with the shooting from the 3-point line for his team (37-0) and North Carolina (28-8) in the regional semifinal on Friday: 4 of 20 (20%) and 4 of 22 (18.2%), respectively. He also shared the subpar tallies from other teams from long distance.
“So, there you have it,” Auriemma said. “Do you want to know the reason for these shooting percentages? I think they bring in new baskets, new basketballs right out of the box. 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.”
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