Geno: Idea for two-host system 'ruined the game'

SPOKANE, Wash. -- UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma reiterated his disdain for the NCAA's two-host regional system for the women's NCAA tournament, saying on Friday "whoever came up with this super regional stuff -- and I know who they are -- 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 men's tournament," Auriemma said a day before his No. 2 seed Huskies face off against the No. 3 seed Oklahoma Sooners in Spokane, Washington. "So, yeah, there's a lot of issues that they need to fix. And again, we could get our ass beat tomorrow and that won't change my feelings."

The NCAA moved to two regional sites for the women's tournament in 2023, after previously hosting games at four locations. The women's March Madness event will have two regional sites through 2028: Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, California, next year; Philadelphia and Las Vegas in 2027; and Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C., in 2028.

Auriemma's Huskies have had to come out to the West Coast each year since 2023 for the regionals. They were a No. 2 seed in Seattle that year, falling to Ohio State in the Sweet 16, and were a No. 3 seed in Portland last season, when they beat USC to advance to the Final Four.

"In a normal world, run by normal people, there would only be four teams here," Auriemma said, revealing that because there are eight teams currently at the Spokane super regional, his team had to get up at 6 a.m. for a one-hour 8 a.m. practice window, and Saturday the team has to wake up at 5 a.m. for a half-hour 7:30 a.m. shootaround.

The Spokane 1 regional games will be held Friday and Sunday, while Spokane 4 contests will take place Saturday and Monday, making for four straight days of games at Spokane Arena.

"Takes us longer to get through security than to actually be on the court," Auriemma quipped.

If they win Saturday, the Huskies would have to play Monday night in the regional final, and then if they punch their ticket to the Final Four in Tampa will 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."

The national semifinal and championship games had long been held on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively, until switching to a Friday/Sunday schedule starting in 2017.

"There's a lot of people in the women's basketball community that think they're smarter than [how they run things in men's basketball]," Auriemma said.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley was also asked about the two-regional system in Birmingham, where her Gamecocks are a No. 1 seed.

"[Juggling practice schedules] is probably it," Staley said of any complications of the setup. "You don't get a shootaround time at a reasonable hour. Other than that, I mean, I actually like the two regions. I like having seven other teams that's trying to advance to the Elite Eight and advance to the Final Four right in one place.

"I do think it allows our fans, fans of women's basketball, to gravitate to one spot. I know the attendance will be up because of it. So bottom line, we need to drive revenue as much as possible."

Also Friday, Auriemma said that he would support the opening of the NCAA transfer portal being pushed back until after the NCAA tournament (it opened earlier this week, on Monday).

"There's just a lot of things going on right now that take away, I think, some of the focus of the players, some of the focus of the coaches, obviously," Auriemma said. "The portal has become a big cloud that hangs over everything... It's got to be when the schools have finished playing. There's got to be some sort of way to track and monitor and penalize tampering, like there is in the NBA. There's got to be a guideline of what you can do in free agency, which is basically what it is. The two windows, yeah, I'm in favor for anything that doesn't interfere with what you're trying to do as a coach with your team."