NCAA’s Baker to Auriemma: ‘Hard to argue’ against 2-site format

PHOENIX — NCAA president Charlie Baker again pushed on UConn coach Geno Auriemma’s current criticism of the two-site regional format, saying Friday that “it’s pretty hard to argue” the formulation just isn’t working.

During a short media availability earlier than the Women’s Final Four, Baker was requested about feedback Auriemma made final week wherein he ripped the NCAA and mentioned, “I just don’t understand some of the decisions that are made about our game when we’re trying to grow the goddamn game.”

Last week on the Fort Worth Regional, Auriemma identified a bunch of issues, together with utilizing new baskets that haven’t been damaged in and scheduling practices and shootarounds that aren’t conducive to the groups’ schedules as a result of they’ve to work round restricted courtroom instances.

“If you look at all the data, the ticket data, the attendance data, the viewership data, it’s all gone up dramatically over the past few years,” Baker mentioned. “We talk to the teams, and the committee will go back and take a look at all the stuff that was raised around all of those issues and make decisions about what to do going forward.

“But it is fairly arduous to argue when attendance is up, viewership is up and ticket gross sales are up constantly 12 months over 12 months that this formulation is not working. I perceive the problem across the scheduling, and that is one thing I believe the committee will take a really arduous take a look at.”

The women’s NCAA tournament moved from a four-site regional format to two sites in 2023. The NCAA told ESPN’s Michael Voepel this month that the two-site setup is guaranteed for at least five more seasons.

Auriemma has complained about the two-site regional format since its inception. In his comments last week, he noted the team’s shootaround before its game Friday was not held at the arena and began at 6:20 am

He also complained last week, “Title IX laws, in observe, is just about out the window. … I believe many of the NCAA legal guidelines have gone out the window.”

In response, Baker pointed to an increase in scholarship numbers for women across the board, in addition to new sanctioned women’s sports, including wrestling, acrobatics and tumbling, and stunt.

“Before the House injunction acquired handed, we had limits far and wide on scholarships, and people limits typically translated in ladies’s sports activities into 1 / 4 for you, 1 / 4 for you, 1 / 4 for you and 1 / 4 for you. The proven fact that we now have roster maxes in all sports activities, however scholarships are uncapped, I believe the information on the finish of the 12 months goes to present an unlimited enhance within the variety of totally scholarship ladies athletes,” Baker mentioned.