Geno Auriemma On The Disparity Between NCAA Men’s And Women’s Tournaments: ‘It’s Never Been Fair’

The conversation around the conditions in San Antonio at the NCAA Women’s Tournament isn’t going away, and legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who is away from the tournament Bubble as he recovers from COVID-19, weighed in on Friday by explaining this struggle has been part of women’s college basketball as long as he’s been part of it.

“It’s never been fair, it’s never been equitable,” Auriemma said. “Not that you expect things to magically be rectified … the world doesn’t move that way.”

Auriemma went on to add that the disparities in how the NCAA is treating female player is a microcosm of the fight across American society for the equal treatment of women.

The story caught fire after a Stanford athletic trainer shared photos of the single rack of weights available to players at the tournament, then was accelerated when Oregon’s Sedona Prince put up a video of the entire space, showing how much room there was to put together a full workout center. Prince and others have also highlighted the poor quality of food compared with the buffets available to men, too.

In a separate session, UConn assistant coach Chris Dailey, who is standing in for Auriemma during his recovery, added that she didn’t believe the disparities were intentional, but is happy there is extra attention on it as a result of the photos and videos going viral.

It remains to be seen what the NCAA is planning to give players additional resources and facilities in their San Antonio bubble, but the problems have everyone talking, so the pressure on the NCAA is heavy.