Overview
- UConn coach Geno Auriemma, speaking Thursday before the Sweet 16, said Title IX is “pretty much out the window” and added that most NCAA laws have “gone out the window.”
- Since 2021 athletes have been allowed to make money from their name, image and likeness, and schools can now pay players directly, with ESPN noting a policy view that Title IX does not cover those payments.
- Auriemma said any gains for women’s basketball now hinge on conference commissioners and athletic directors choosing to keep funding the sport.
- Reporting pointed to uneven money flows, with EssentiallySports citing a $20.5 million per‑school pool that directs most dollars to football and men’s basketball and a men’s tournament prize pool far larger than the women’s.
- He also criticized the women’s tournament design, opposing two‑site regionals and early neutral‑site games unless sellouts are guaranteed, and he acknowledged Syracuse’s complaint about getting placed in UConn’s subregional year after year.