SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Cori Close isn't sure how much longer she will be coaching. The responsibilities of coaches have changed a lot in her 33 years in the game, especially in the last few years.
“I’ve never been as tired as I’ve been in the last two years, and it’s made me think how much longer I can do this,” said Close, who will lead No. 1 seed UCLA against fourth-seeded Minnesota on Friday in the Sacramento Region 2 semifinal. “And I’m just being transparent with you about that. There are so many things that are harder, and we keep losing incredible people on the men’s and the women’s side."
Between the transfer portal, name, image and likeness and revenue sharing, coaching has changed. It's not just about recruiting players from high school, but also now about keeping a team together each season and figuring out how much money each player will make through revenue sharing.
The transfer portal was moved this year to open the day after the national championship game, as opposed to during the NCAA Tournament.
“If there’s one thing I would ask of our governing bodies and the NCAA and our administrations, it is please develop infrastructure and boundaries that create an opportunity to have sustained excellence and sustainable pace," said Close, who is in her 15th season at UCLA. "Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose some of our best coaches, and I do not think our game can afford to do that.”
UCLA has been on one of the best runs in its history, reaching the Final Four last season for the first time since the Bruins won the AIAW national championship in 1978. The Bruins continued that success this season, losing only once en route to winning the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles.
Some longtime coaches have stepped down over the past few seasons for a variety of reasons, including for health issues. Others have mulled retirement.
Louisville coach Jeff Walz didn't sound close to retirement when the 54-year-old in his 19th season with the Cardinals was told of Close's comments.
“I’m friends with Cori,” Walz said. “My favorite line, I would tell her, if you don’t like your job, find a new job. I mean, I’m listening this morning at 4:20 as the workers outside my window at the hotel in the street are working. I mean, you choose your profession. If you don’t like it, find a new profession.”
Walz was speaking before 8 a.m. Texas time Friday morning, the day before the Cardinals play Michigan in the Sweet 16 of the Fort Worth Regional 3.
“I mean, of course, it’s a lot of work, but we chose to do it and we get compensated for it,” Walz said. “I don’t think anybody is going to feel too sorry for us that you might be tired. I’m tired, too, but who is not?”
Wolverines coach Kim Barnes Arico said coaching fatigue is less about age and more about adaptation.
“A few years ago when all this started to come into play, I knew as a coach and I talked to our players and I talked to our staff, times are changing,” Barnes Arico said. “We need to evolve. We need to grow. We need to step up to the challenges, because if we can’t, the game, the landscape, all of it is going to pass us by.”
While Close was outspoken on the changing landscape, Duke coach Kara Lawson deflected discussing the state of the game.
“I don’t know that I’m looking to be, like, the voice of the sport or anything like that. That’s not a goal of mine. I think there’s plenty of other people out there that do a great job of being that,” she said. “For me, I’ve been in the college basketball, I guess this is my sixth year. When I came, everything started changing. So I don’t have a view of the old way because I wasn’t in coaching the old way. Just change has been what’s been standard for me.”
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