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Women’s college basketball has had to take a back seat to the new era of college sports, while suffering all the drawbacks of what many believe has become the Wild West.
Football, with a touch of men’s basketball, was the launching pad for conference realignment. Certainly, those who committed to play women’s basketball at UCLA just three years ago hadn’t played about half of their games east of the Mississippi on their bingo card.
But just like football and men’s basketball, women’s basketball players have been victims of a potential pursuit of NIL money.
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Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins cuts the net after winning the Spokane Regional championship against the LSU Lady Tigers 72-65 in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament at Spokane Arena on March 30, 2025 in Spokane, Washington. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
“The day after we got off the plane for the Final Four, six kids left our program,” UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close said in a recent interview with PK Press Club. “And I think there are definitely reasons to transfer. So I’m not at all saying that all kids are chasing money. That’s not the case. But I think it makes it easier and makes kids chase the wrong things.”
That’s why Close is trying to showcase her brand in the Southern California community. UCLA and Close have partnered with Wescom Financial to support the Wescom Foundation’s wildfire relief initiative, wiping out $10 million in debt for those affected by the 2025 Southern California wildfires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades.
At games this season, Close hosted some of the debt relief recipients, meeting with them and listening to their stories about how they were affected by the wildfires.
“It was one of those things that was really a no-brainer. It was just the kind of thing that I wanted to be a part of, that I wanted to learn from, and that I wanted to be better at. And so when the opportunity presented itself to partner with Wescom Financial and do something of such significance and importance, it was really a no-brainer,” Close said.
Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins celebrates a 67-63 victory over the Creighton Bluejays in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament – second round at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion on March 25, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Harry Comment/Getty Images)
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Close admitted it’s not easy getting her players involved in the community, considering they’re trying to win a national championship on the field and build their brand from it. But Close mentioned that her team leads the NCAA in assists per game and that she tries to instill assisting others on and off the court.
“When you look at it like, how can I add value to someone else? How can I make someone else better? And you get great purpose and meaning out of it, you know, I think it makes us better people, but I also think it makes us a better basketball team as well,” Close said.
Close said many residents contacted her throughout the last year to thank her because watching or attending a Bruins game took their minds off their harsh new fire-related realities. She said love was actually able to relieve players of the pressure needed to perform as they compete for a national title.
“Any time you feel pressure, you’ve probably forgotten your why. And so people don’t burn out because they’re doing too much. They burn out because they lose track of their why. And so, actually, that was probably one of the best things that could have happened to us from a pressure standpoint, because you always know that someone else is handling things a lot harder than you are with the basketball game,” Close said.
Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins celebrates after a game against the LSU Lady Tigers during the Elite Eight round of the 2025 NCAA women’s basketball tournament held at Spokane Arena on March 30, 2025 in Spokane, Washington. (Tyler McFarland/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
“I’m going, you know what? We can be an inspiration to others. We can bring joy to someone else. We can bring a bag of clothes to someone who was making their documentary about us and lost their house. We can bring them a big bag of clothes. We have to be a part of that.”
