The NCAA is a business at the end of the day, and they need to generate revenue from the less popular Women’s tournament any way they can. You could argue it’s actually pretty unfair to have the top 16 teams host the first two rounds. Yes, every team has the opportunity to play their way into the top 16, but once the tournament starts, it’s a huge advantage.
I’m not super familiar with why regionals are where they are, and why bids are accepted. But if you have a regional in the home state of one of the most loyal fan bases in the country, it’s a no brainer to figure out a way to place that team there. It might not be totally fair, but is the top 16 advantage fair?
Uconn in Bridgeport generates revenue, but also puts people into the seats. I remember watching a game when Karlie Samuelson was a senior, and their regional had less than 2,000 fans. In what appeared to be a rather large arena. A casual person tuning in must see that and question the true importance of what they are watching. It’s not a good look if you’re trying to grow the sport.
As a Uconn fan, I get the complaints, and understand it’s not completely fair. But I 100% understand why the committee did what they did and created a narrative to justify it. UConn’s injuries basically gave them a free pass to excuse any losses, or weigh those losses more heavily to get them into Bridgeport on the S curve.
Perhaps Ms. Antonelli was into something when she wanted all 16 teams playing at one location. I honestly don’t think it’s a half bad idea, and eliminates all of the geography concerns. Until that once location is near a top team, of course.
