Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies are vying for yet another NCAA Women’s Tournament championship, but the veteran coach made some biting remarks about the event itself on Friday.
The No. 2 Huskies are in the Sweet 16 and face No. 3 Oklahoma Saturday in Spokane, Washington. The winner advances to the Elite Eight Monday. The winner of that game will fly cross-country to play Friday in the Final Four in Tampa.
It’s a brutal schedule for the two Final Four teams coming out of the Spokane super regional, who face a much longer flight and more arduous travel than those coming out of the other super regional in Birmingham, Alabama, a brief flight from Tampa.
Auriemma ripped the super regional concept during his media session Friday.
“God bless whoever wins Monday night, OK, and they’ve got to fly cross country, which is all day Tuesday, then they have two days, Wednesday and Thursday, to play the biggest game of their life,” Auriemma said. “The guys who don’t know s*** about s***, according to a lot of women’s basketball people, they finish Sunday, then they have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and they play Saturday.
“But there’s a lot of people in the women’s basketball community that think they’re smarter than that.”
The NCAA adopted the super regional format in 2023 rather than using the traditional four regional sites in a bid to spur interest in the tournament. However, the sanctioning body made that decision in 2019, before stars such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers boosted ratings and attendance in the women’s tournament.
Auriemma noted that the super regionals hurt teams and make it more difficult for fans to attend the games.
“Whoever came up with this Super Regional stuff … ruined the game. They did, they ruined the game,” Auriemma said. “Half the country has no chance to get to a game in-person. But you’re making billions off of TV. Well, actually, you’re not — that would be the men’s tournament. So yeah, there’s a lot of issues that they need to fix. And again, we could get our a** beat tomorrow and that won’t change my feelings.”
“Whoever came up with this Super Regional stuff ruined the game. Half the country has no chance to get to a game in-person. But, you’re making billions off of TV. Well, actually, you’re not – that would be the mens tournament. There’s a lot of issues…”
– Geno Auriemma pic.twitter.com/jPErAFYBha
— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) March 28, 2025
While travel inequities for some teams existed with four regional sites, having two host sites potentially creates that issue for more teams.
The women’s tournament is locked into the super regional structure through at least 2028. Next year’s super regional sites are set for Sacramento and Fort Worth, Texas, with the Final Four in Phoenix. That’s a better travel scenario for teams, but it makes it tougher for Eastern U.S. fans to attend the games.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.