UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close is standing by her media criticisms.
On Sunday, Close, who coaches the No. 4 ranked UCLA Bruins, criticized the lack of media coverage for her team’s game against the No. 19 Ohio State Buckeyes. During postgame comments to Benjamin Royer of the Orange County Register, who was covering the game remotely, Close remarked that there was next to no media providing on-site coverage of the game, despite it being the only top-25 matchup on the slate that day.
“Honestly, if I’m being really blunt with you, the energy in the building was great, but having no media here at all from either team or either — no AP, no nothing, doesn’t say a lot,” Close said after UCLA’s win on Sunday. “We’re the only double-ranked game out today; the only one in the country, and we had no media day today. No media here. You’re the only one that’s asked to talk to me. And credit to you, but I don’t mind if you print that either. Like for the only game that had two ranked opponents to not have more coverage over this particular game — disappointing, honestly.”
Since Close’s comments were published, several outlets and on-site media members have come out to provide context to the circumstances. The Associated Press sent freelance reporter Nicole Kraft to the game for a “straight game recap” according to a report by Front Office Sports. She told the outlet, “The timing for those stories is about five minutes after the final buzzer so there’s no way to meet that and get quotes at the same time.” Additionally, Kraft also needed to leave the game quickly to cover another assignment for the AP, a Columbus Blue Jackets game.
Thomas Costello, a writer for Ohio State’s SB Nation site, was in attendance and shared with Awful Announcing that he remained in the room where press conferences are held until the UCLA bus departed, though there was no formal press availability. Costello had told the Ohio State SID that he didn’t have any UCLA-specific questions for Close, which perhaps contributed to the decision not to hold a press conference.
On Tuesday, Close reiterated her stance that the lack of media coverage was unacceptable.
“I have never been shy about my desire to grow the game and to tell the stories of the great women in it,” Close said per Front Office Sports. “I know that traditional media has changed quite a bit, I just can’t remember a time in my 15 years as a head coach that we had a double-ranked game that had zero press conference and wanted zero quotes from the away team. On top of it, we’re the No. 4 team in the country, so—I’m not just talking about people in the building, I’m talking about our publications back home and anyone who wants to tell the story of our game, when I know some of these outlets cover every men’s road game in person, you know? I’m just asking for proportionate growth and coverage with the growth of our game, and I am happy to support non-traditional media that wants to tell the stories of our players in appropriate ways.”
There’s no doubt, women’s college basketball has been on a steady growth trajectory in the past few years. Earlier this month, ESPN’s SVP of College, Nick Dawson, revealed that deciding whether to schedule a men’s or women’s college basketball game in primetime is now a “revenue-neutral decision” for the network from an ad sales perspective. While viewership for women’s games still lag behind the men (regular-season men’s games averaged 968,000 viewers while women’s games averaged 511,000 viewers on ESPN last year), the rate of growth is undeniable, and the gap only continues to narrow.
But media coverage is still catching up. Close is right. A top-25 men’s game would never have such a lacking press corp, and outlets should feel empowered to cover the women’s game at higher rates. The data is there: people are interested. Though as many publications continue to face declining economics, convincing decision makers to invest more resources into any beat is an uphill battle.
Those that do decide to invest more into women’s basketball, however, could very well be rewarded.