Over the last month, The Athletic sat down with more than 35 women's college basketball head coaches to discuss topics ranging from the changing tides of the sport to the best coaches in the game to the best college basketball players of all time. These coaches, who come from power conferences and upper mid-major states, were given anonymity so they could speak openly without fear of retaliation from their programs or the NCAA. Throughout the week, we'll be sharing our coaches' thoughts on the most pressing issues in sports.
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Anonymous women's college basketball coaches discuss who is best at in-game coordination and game planning.
These are unprecedented times in college sports. Coaches face a new challenge between the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) transfer portal and the current push to convert college athletes into college employees in some parts of the country. The sport is changing every day, and it seems as if every other week a new lawsuit surfaces that threatens the NCAA's existence in some way.
Two of this year's poll questions focus on these very topics.
The first is about the transfer portal that opened this week, marking one of the biggest pendulum swings in college hoops. In 2021, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a measure that allows athletes to transfer without losing a year of eligibility. More than 1,000 women's college basketball players entered the transfer portal in each of the past two offseasons. Now, when you look across the board, including the Final Four favorites, there are very few rosters that haven't been significantly affected by the portal, with players coming and going (or both).
The second question is more personal and focuses on how coaches reflect on their careers in light of recent changes in the college sports world. We specifically wondered if these shifts had us thinking about the exit door sooner than we expected.
The third question gave coaches the opportunity to tell us one change they would make to the sport to move the game forward.
1. Would you classify the transfer portal as offering “something better” or “something worse” in women's college basketball?
Better: 31%
Even worse: 69%
Was this the first question you asked coaches in your survey? Yes, it was. Would most coaches have responded like this? “Wow, you're really swinging, aren't you?” Yes, they did.
As with most topics, this is not one where coaches are 100% against one side of the issue. Most coaches understand that there are good and bad aspects to the portal experience. But that's why we worded the question “better or worse?” We encouraged coaches to choose between these two options, even if some were on the fence.
Coaches viewed this more positively, believing players should be able to be wherever they wanted, and said the increased movement had made the game more homogeneous.
“Player autonomy and player rights, that's what I need to work on,” said one coach. “I'm probably in the minority there. Players should have the same autonomy and freedom as coaches.”
One coach said the portal experience was “very positive,” but said he would like to see some guardrails, especially opening the guardrails only to players in their second season and beyond. Another player said freedom of movement should be given, especially to those who think they are better suited elsewhere.
“I always thought it was wrong for players to be put in a situation where they would be penalized if they wanted to go somewhere else that they thought was more suitable for them,” the coach said. .
Almost half of the coaches who fell on the “worse” side said the portal provided players with an easy way out of adversity.
“I think if something doesn’t go their way or go as planned, it’s easy for them to pivot instead of pivoting,” one coach said. He further added that “kids don't have to keep fighting the uphill battle.”
One coach said the biggest negative is that fans miss out on the opportunity to be fans of a particular player for four years with one program. This is unique to women's college basketball, where the majority of players don't go pro early.
“Honestly, basketball is better overall for me at the higher levels,” one coach explained. “What's bad for me is that the fans have a hard time with it. They want loyalty and seeing their loved ones for four years.”
The truth, many coaches acknowledged, was that no matter what one's opinion on the portal, the toothpaste wasn't going back in the tube, and everyone just needed to figure out how to move forward with the status quo in women's hoops.
“I don't like it, but I think complaining about it is the worst thing we can do,” said one coach. “Tell us the rules and we will adapt and adjust.”
2. How much do you think recent changes in college sports will shorten the length of your career as a coach?
shortening: 54%
Unchanged: 46%
shortened
Whether you've been on the job for a year or 20, it's not uncommon to evaluate the pros and cons of your current situation. In that sense, coaches are just like us. They seek work-life balance, ask for raises, and ask their bosses for reviews. As these issues have become a more central part of college sports in recent years, more than half of the coaches surveyed said they were less likely than expected to actually quit the coaching profession because of so much change. Some people said it would be sooner.
“Between the lack of security and having to re-recruit your own children at a higher level using NIL, it takes time to recruit transfer portals, which is already an arduous task. But the current situation has made it unsustainable,'' one coach said. Furthermore, he added: “I didn't come into this job to be CEO. A lot has changed over the last four years. It's a completely different job.”
One young coach said it's not appealing to stay in the game as long as some veteran coaches. “I'm not old, I'm in my 40s. Do I want to do this for another 25 years? If this continues on its current trajectory, then no,” the coach added. “Of course I'll starve, because I don't have any other skills. So, I don't know what I'll do, but it's fascinating.”
Yet another said: “People who are into coaching now are losing their minds.”
unchanged
Coaches who were not dissuaded from continuing their careers cited a variety of reasons.
One coach said, “I'm young and vibrant.” “But I understand these older cats. They're going through all of this.”
Another coach said that considering they are young and the main breadwinners for their families, leaving the pros early is simply not an option. “I think it depends on where you are in your career. The coaches are young and raising families, so we just adjust,” the coach explained. “Do I like NIL?” Of course. Do I like figuring out ways to raise money for the collective and find ways around things? No, I don't like that. But I'm in a position where I don't know if I have a choice. ”
One coach admits he plans to pursue a coaching career in the future, but will no longer seek employment in what he previously considered a “dream job” due to new off-the-court pressures being added to the program. Ta.
“My time as a coach hasn't changed, but where I coach has changed,” the coach said. “It becomes very difficult to be in a particular place. From a work-life balance perspective, being present (where we are) simply because the portal does not consume as much of our activity. The location) is much more attractive. I think it makes this league a little bit more attractive and makes it a long-lasting league that could have been a stepping stone to bigger jobs.”
3. If you had a magic wand, what changes would you make to progress in the game?
This was probably the most fun question to ask because the coaches approached this question from every angle. There were no wrong answers, no real boundaries they had to play with. Naturally, considering the topics of the above two questions, almost his third of the coaches focused on the NIL, the transfer portal or other topics in the changing landscape of the sport. But others took a different approach. Some wanted changes to the rulebook and referees. Some wanted more investment in media coverage. One coach used a magic wand to make a difference. surely Would have made a difference this season: “Anterior cruciate ligament injury – 'I'd like to get them fixed.'” here here.
Let's start with what we caught The Athleticreporters were surprised.
lower the rim
A wish? “For example, when it comes to entertainment, let's make it interesting. … This is unpopular. Lower the rim a foot. Let's go to events for kids, like halftime shows. And they roll out the little rim and let people We're going to have a dunk contest. How excited are people? They're going to have a blast.”
He was the only coach who expressed a desire to see this change.
NIL, transfer portal, etc.
“Improve the boundaries around NIL. Get name, image, and likeness rights without paying a fee to play.”
“There's a lot of gray area from a compliance standpoint, from a transfer and NIL standpoint. It seems like there weren't enough rules, so now people are trying to make more rules. But now they really Are we following them? Does this actually lead to the greater good of the game? Trying to find a balance from a compliance perspective is good for everyone, both from a student-athlete perspective and from a coaching perspective. It’s for the greater good.”
“Finding some kind of stability within player movement and NIL. I want them to have that, but I want more guardrails and parameters around it.”
Referees and rule changes
Changing the rules to reward offensive play: “They changed the rules of football regarding quarterbacks. They changed the rules of baseball to incorporate a pitch clock so fans could have more fun, and they changed the game that way. I think it's evolving. And I don't think you can really build the game that I think you can if you continue to only evaluate physicality and 45-50 scores.”
Six fouls: “I think people want to see the best players on the floor. I think they don't want to talk about the referees, and I think that helps the referees as well. If our best players were on the floor in crunch time and the fouls weren't as shocking, I think that would help the game.”
Adds a 24-second shot clock. “Internationally he plays 24s. Obviously in the professional league he plays 24s. I think it's good to be consistent and ultimately a better product. I think you can do it.”
Another coach agreed, adding, “The three-second fielding rule.”
Further media coverage
“We're going to get even more coverage. And we've expanded coverage in a comprehensive way. It's better than before, but you can see that the real driver is good coverage.”
“There are a lot of better teams than you see on TV, so the better teams get more access to TV. I mean, Caitlin Clark is always on TV, so is there an overabundance of sensationalism?” Maybe. But Cameron Brink, I don't watch her play games all year. Even when she's not scouting or watching her own league, she just sits there. “Imagine the general public, you turn on the TV when you're watching, and there's a lot of teams you don't watch. We need more exposure in the prime window.”
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March Madness Media Story: Can Caitlin Clark lead women over men in ratings?
readjustment readjustment
“Please separate women's basketball from football. Just separate the different sports and do what makes sense for those sports. We are at the mercy of football and football money. Be more independent.”
— The AthleticNicole Auerbach contributed to this report.
(Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
