SAN ANTONIO — With the entire 2021 NCAA women’s basketball tournament being held at neutral sites this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the oft-debated question of whether the event should permanently become totally neutral from the first turns arises again. .
Some of the game’s top coaches are in favor but are concerned about attendance.
“In all (other) NCAA sports, you don’t have neutral sites in the first two rounds,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “Because it happens in men’s basketball (which is played at neutral sites for the entire duration), people just assume it’s supposed to happen in women’s basketball. But it would be terrible to have games at neutral sites and having what you have here now, a quiet gym.”
Of course, the reason this year’s first round matches were quiet: attendance was not allowed for them other than family and friends. Starting with the Sweet 16 starting Saturday, NCAA women’s games will allow 17% capacity for fans.
But Auriemma’s point is that concerns about low attendance need to be taken into account when considering a move to fully neutral on-site games.
“So if you can say the fans will be there, then I’m all for it,” Auriemma said. “And I think it would be great for the game, if we could do it.”
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley believes teams earn the right to make the early rounds based on their results throughout the season, and that’s a reward for them and their fans. Going completely neutral would eliminate that, she said.
“Am I in favor? No,” Staley said. “That’s what we work for. It gives extra motivation during the season to fill the venue. We draw a big crowd, we’ve been No. 1 for the last six years. Let’s not turn back on our game.”
The tournament setup normally consists of the top 16 seeds hosting first and second round matches, then hosting four regional championships at neutral sites. From 2023, the regionals will take place on two sites instead of four.
The NCAA has tried several different configurations for the women’s tournament over the years. From 1982 to 2002, top-seeded teams hosted first-round games, followed by four regional championships at pre-selected sites that were not necessarily neutral, as schools could bid to host them. (The tournament did not expand to 64 teams until 1994.)
In 2003, the NCAA visited pre-selected sites for first-round games; schools could apply to host, but not for more than two consecutive years. This resulted in more neutral site games. A change used from 2005 to 2008 brought even more neutral-site matches, with first-round matches held at eight sites – the same setup as the men’s tournament, except teams could play in the sub-regions they welcomed. This eight-team system ended after 2008, however, due to attendance issues, and the tournament returned to 16 pre-selected venues. In 2015, the top 16 seeds began hosting first round matches again.
Regionals have been at neutral sites since 2005, with the exception of 2014, when they stayed at campus sites for a year. The coaches objected and the regionals returned to neutral sites.
There is, however, no guarantee that neutral sites would bring more disruption.
In this year’s tournament, six seeds outside the top 16 reached the regional semifinals; they’re all No. 5 or 6 seeds. As recently as 2018, two No. 11 seeds made the women’s Sweet 16 — Buffalo and Central Michigan — by winning on the home courts of higher-ranked teams.
Still, some coaches believe the sheer likelihood of further upheaval makes a change worth considering.
“What makes the NCAA men’s tournament what it is is those surprises early on,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “At the end of the day, it’s usually the best teams that make their way to the Elite Eight and Final Four, but those early-round surprises are what make the tournament great.
“It’s hard enough for a 13 to beat a 4, or a 15 to beat a 2. But when you have to do it on that higher seed’s court, it’s almost impossible. With the way the game has evolved, if you choose these places wisely, I think you can expand them and make them special.”
Louisville coach Jeff Walz agrees but also worries about attendance. He also added that he would prefer to move to a regional location at some point.
“I think you get a place to put a Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight,” he said, “and you can have a wonderful venue with great basketball games.”
