Over the last month, The Athletic has spoken with more than 30 women’s college basketball coaches about an array of topics from name, image and likeness to athletic directors to X’s and O’s. These coaches, who hail from power conferences and high mid-majors, were granted anonymity to allow them to speak openly without fear of retribution from their own programs or the NCAA. Throughout the week, we’ll share coaches’ thoughts on the most pressing issues in their sport. Though not every response to each question is included, answers represent all opinions expressed.
Expansion of the women’s NCAA Tournament isn’t all that uncommon in some respects. Just last season, the tournament’s field grew for the first time since 1994 to create a field of 68 — equaling the size of the men’s NCAA Tournament. Though its most recent increase saw only four more schools receive bids, possible future expansion would seem more consequential.
Last month, the NCAA Division I Transformation Committee submitted a series of proposals to the Division I Board of Records recommending, among other notes, that all team sports sponsored by more than 200 institutions consider expanding their postseason fields to 25 percent of the teams that meet the standard in the sport. Both women’s and…
