UConn's Geno Auriemma Takes Aim at NCAA Over Women's March Madness Format
📖 Full Retelling
UConn men's basketball coach Geno Auriemma is ripping the double-regional format being used in the women's NCAA Tournament, saying it doesn't make sense for the teams still playing or for efforts to grow the game. Auriemma brought up attendance, bad shooting percentages and teams having to come to the arena early and late on the same day when taking aim at the format that's in place for the fourth year, and set to continue for at least five more. "Well, I think the first question you’d have to ask is why did they go from four (sites) to two. What was the rationale?" the 12-time national champion coach said Saturday. "If they can explain it legitimately and then prove that it works, then great. So what was the reason?" NCAA officials didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The defending national champion Huskies (37-0), the overall No. 1 seed, play Notre Dame (25-10) in the Fort Worth Regional 1 final on Sunday. The Huskies held their required media availability Saturday morning, after the Fighting Irish had already completed their session and before two Sweet 16 games in Fort Worth Regional 3 were played at Dickies Arena. UConn and Notre Dame both had scheduled practice times there later in the evening. "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," Auriemma said. "Does anybody who makes these decisions ever ask the coaches and the players, hey, does this work?" AP All-America teammates Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong agreed with their coach's strong sentiment. "Everyone’s trying to figure that out right now," Fudd said. "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." Auriemma, the winningest men's or women's NCAA basketball coach with 1,287 victories, didn't wait for a question from reporters to share his thoughts
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UConn men's basketball coach Geno Auriemma is ripping the double-regional format being used in the women's NCAA Tournament, saying it doesn't make sense for the teams still playing or for efforts to grow the game. Auriemma brought up attendance, bad shooting percentages and teams having to come to the arena early and late on the same day when taking aim at the format that's in place for the fourth year, and set to continue for at least five more. "Well, I think the first question you’d have to ask is why did they go from four (sites) to two. What was the rationale?" the 12-time national champion coach said Saturday. "If they can explain it legitimately and then prove that it works, then great. So what was the reason?" NCAA officials didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. The defending national champion Huskies (37-0), the overall No. 1 seed, play Notre Dame (25-10) in the Fort Worth Regional 1 final on Sunday. The Huskies held their required media availability Saturday morning, after the Fighting Irish had already completed their session and before two Sweet 16 games in Fort Worth Regional 3 were played at Dickies Arena. UConn and Notre Dame both had scheduled practice times there later in the evening. "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," Auriemma said. "Does anybody who makes these decisions ever ask the coaches and the players, hey, does this work?" AP All-America teammates Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong agreed with their coach's strong sentiment. "Everyone’s trying to figure that out right now," Fudd said. "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." Auriemma, the winningest men's or women's NCAA basketball coach with 1,287 victories, didn't wait for a question from reporters to share his thoughts
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