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UConn women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma blew up the NCAA.
The 72-year-old coach took offense at the NCAA for not consulting players or coaches before making changes to the tournament format.
The NCAA moved from a four-site regional system to a two-site regional system in 2023, which Auriemma said created issues in terms of shot time and quality of play.
“I just don’t understand some of the decisions that are made regarding our game when we’re trying to develop the God game,” Auriemma said in a press conference Saturday.
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UConn head coach Geno Auriemma watches a play late in the second half of an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game against North Carolina in Fort Worth, Texas, March 27, 2026. (LM Otero/AP Photo)
“Is anyone making these decisions asking the coaches and the players, ‘Hey, is this working? Are you doing this during the regular season? Is this normal?’
Auriemma opened his press conference by listing some of the teams’ dismal 3-point shooting numbers in Friday’s Sweet 16 games: 4 for 20 (UConn), 4 for 22 (North Carolina), 1 for 17 (Notre Dame), 5 for 18 (Vanderbilt), 4 for 16 (UCLA) and 7 for 26 (Duke).
The legendary coach lamented the timing and length of UConn’s shootaround.
“Do you know what time our shooting session was yesterday?” Auriemma said. “Six twenty (Eastern), I think, for a half hour. This morning I just saw Notre Dame leave, so they had media this morning. Their practice time is tonight at 5:30. … You know what time our practice time is? 6:30 tonight.”
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UConn head coach Geno Auriemma reacts to a play during the first half of an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game against North Carolina in Fort Worth, Texas, March 27, 2026. (Julio Cortés/AP Photo)
With eight teams sharing an arena, there is less practice time for each team. Auriemma also suggested that the equipment used leads to a decrease in the quality of play.
“I think they bring new hoops, new basketballs right out of the box,” Auriemma said.
“There are people dribbling the ball. There are people missing layups everywhere. You bounce the ball and it goes up to the ceiling. There’s just no idea how basketball is played.”
The 12-time national championship-winning head coach said the teams may have had a bad shooting day, but all of their shooting numbers were well below their season-long averages.
“How many arenas are we going to sell with these bulls—?” Auriemma said.
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UConn head coach Geno Auriemma reacts to a play during the first half of an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game against North Carolina in Fort Worth, Texas, March 27, 2026. (Julio Cortés/AP Photo)
The NCAA’s intention in moving to a bi-regional format was to increase attendance, and it told ESPN that it has attracted the largest number of tournament attendees in the tournament’s history since its implementation. Lynn Holzman, the NCAA’s vice president for women’s basketball, told ESPN that the positives outweigh the negatives.
Auriemma said he doesn’t have the answers to get it right, just questions.
The esteemed head coach will look to lead his undefeated team (37-0) to an Elite 8 victory against No. 6 Notre Dame on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
