UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Criticizes NCAA Tournament Regional Format
UConn’s legendary coach, Geno Auriemma, expressed his dissatisfaction with the current NCAA Tournament structure, highlighting how the regional format could disadvantage teams like UConn, Oklahoma, USC, or Kansas State heading into the Final Four.
Since 2023, the NCAA Women’s Tournament has held the Sweet Sixteen at two regional locations, in contrast to the previous four-site system still used for the Men’s Tournament. This year, half of the remaining 16 teams were sent to Birmingham, AL, and the other half traveled to Spokane, WA.
The teams advancing from Birmingham will head to Tampa, FL, covering a distance of about 600 miles, while those from Spokane face a much longer journey of roughly 2,800 miles to reach the Final Four.
Auriemma pointed out that there will always be a team facing long travel, depending on the regional matchups. “There’s always going to be somebody that has to travel, whoever is in the West region when the finals are on the East Coast, and vice versa,” he said. “So somebody is always going to have to travel. But it would only be one team, correct? One team.”
The travel challenges are even more pronounced for the team emerging from the Spokane Regional 4. The winner from Spokane Regional 1 (UCLA, Ole Miss, LSU, or NC State) will be decided on Sunday and then fly to Tampa on Monday, giving them three days to prepare for the Final Four on Friday. In contrast, the Spokane Regional 4 winner (USC, Kansas State, UConn, or Oklahoma) will have just one day less to prepare after their cross-country flight.
“God bless whoever wins Monday night, okay,” Auriemma said. “And they have 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.”
He compared this to the Men’s Tournament, where teams typically finish their regional play on Sunday, giving them the full week, from Monday to Friday, to prepare for their next game.
The shift to the “Super Regional” format was intended to concentrate fans at fewer sites, aiming to boost tournament revenue. Auriemma suggested that teams like Oklahoma could benefit from this format in the future, especially if they secure a good seed and advance to the second weekend, with one of the Super Regional sites set to be in Fort Worth, TX next year.
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