Auriemma: Women's tourney should stand on its own as 'alternative'

HOUSTON — UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma is attending his first men's NCAA Final Four since 1981, when he happened to live in the host city of Philadelphia and had a ticket. He recalled going on the same day that President Ronald Reagan got shot.

His return to the event more than four decades later re-affirmed his opinion that the men's and women's Final Fours should never be combined. This has been a discussion topic since gender equity issues arose during the 2021 NCAA tournaments and it included a formal recommendation of combining the men's and women's Final Fours.

«The Houston Astros are the defending World Series champions,» Auriemma told ESPN at NRG Stadium on Sunday. «Nobody cares (here). They don't even know they exist. The Lakers and Rockets (playing on Sunday) and these things. The Final Four swallows all of it up, like whales eat winnows. If we were to be put in this environment as a women's tournament, we would lose everything that's happening in Dallas right now.»

Auriemma said that having the women's Final Four in a different venue than the men's isn't indicative of the caliber of the games being less compelling.

«What you're seeing (this weekend) is that if you have your own unique product it works, because it's an alternative,» Auriemma said. «It's not something that's inferior. It's an alternative. (If you don't like it), then don't turn the game on. But six million people turn it on. It's an alternative. It's a different viewing option.»

While Auriemma spoke outside UConn's men's practice on Saturday at NRG Stadium, the NCAA women's final was being played in Dallas. It marked the first time in 14 years that Auriemma didn't have a team in the Final Four, and he's excited to see the sport