UConn schedule slowly coming into focus
UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma had hoped to keep the entire 2020-21 schedule in place for his team. That, of course, didn’t happen, and Auriemma is now trying to preserve as much of it as he can.
“We’re not the only one in that situation,” Auriemma said Wednesday following the team’s first official practice. “We’re not the only one that’s being affected by this. We’re trying to add another game. We’re talking to whatever schools are also in that situation.”
At the moment, the Huskies are scheduled to play in the Hall of Fame Challenge with Quinnipiac, Mississippi State and Maine on Nov. 28-29 at Mohegan Sun. Games at Baylor and Tennessee also remain a go, Auriemma said, though the dates are uncertain.
Another game still on is South Carolina, as Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley told local media on Wednesday.
Last month, the NCAA revised its rules to allow teams to play a maximum of 25 games or 23 plus one-multi team event this season. Auriemma has already said he expects to play a full 20-game Big East schedule, which will likely begin a few weeks after the Nov. 25 start date.
The Huskies were supposed to continue their rivalry with Notre Dame, but that series was postponed on Monday after the Fighting Irish ran into complications with their schedule due to COVID-19. Au--
riemma indicated Wednesday that the ACC’s 20-game schedule factored into the equation.
“There’s no rhyme or reason for what happens. You just kind of roll with it,” Auriemma said. “I don’t know what the policy is in the ACC, and why some teams can play and some can’t, and why you play a certain number of games. I don’t know.
“We were hoping that we’d be able to keep our entire schedule as it was designed, but unfortunately we weren’t able to do that.”
The last season in which UConn and Notre Dame didn’t play during the regular season was 2013-14, the Huskies’ first year in the American Athletic Conference. Including postseason, the last time the teams did not face each other was 1994-95.
“Hopefully we’ll have some more concrete information next week,” Auriemma. “Then when the conference releases their information about what days they’re playing, that will help.”
GENO NOT A PROPONENT OF NEW NCAA RULING
The NCAA’s Division I Council voted Wednesday to grant an additional year of eligibility to winter sport athletes, regardless of how much or how little they play. Auriemma said he doesn’t understand the reasoning behind the measure, especially in the event a full season is played.
“How does that make any sense?” Auriemma asked rhetorically. “So, you get to play a whole year — play 26 games, play 27 games, whatever — then you get another year next year? I think you’re going to have a lot of coaches that are going to have a problem with that, to be honest with you.
“I don’t have to worry; I don’t have any seniors. But I think you’re going to have a lot of coaches go, ‘You put me in a tough spot here.’ ” Auriemma said. “Now, you’re going to have some seniors go, ‘Hey, I want to stay.’ You’ve got a coach thinking, ‘I wasn’t planning on you staying.’ Now what are you going to do? Turn the kid out?”
FUTURE FINAL FOUR SITES ANNOUNCED
The NCAA awarded Final Fours to Tampa, Fla., in 2025 and Phoenix in 2026 on Wednesday. Additionally, it was announced that beginning in 2023, regional play will be held at two sites per year, with eight schools competing at each site.