Iowa State Cyclones head women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly reacts against Texas Tech during the first quarter on a senior day at Hilton Coliseum Saturday, March 4, 2023, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In the coming days, fans from around the Big 12 Conference will make the trek to Kansas City for the weekend, some taking a couple of days off of work to see their favorite programs’ men’s and women’s basketball teams compete in the league’s postseason tournament.
In 2024, on the standard 9-5, Monday-Friday job, those same fans would need to take at least six days off to ensure they could watch each of their team’s games in person. That number grows to seven if their women’s team finishes outside of the top four in conference standings and fails to earn a bye.
“I won’t lie, I don’t like it,” Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly said. “I think the way we’re doing it now is absolutely perfect for everyone, but kind of like at home, my vote doesn’t really count.”
The Big 12 voted to keep the tournament in Kansas City through 2027, and with it came a move for the women’s tournament to the weekend prior to the men’s tournament.
The move also includes the women’s tournament going to the T-Mobile Center, instead of where it currently is held at Municipal Auditorium.
Part of the move considers the amount of locker rooms available in Municipal Auditorium. During some rounds of the women’s tournament, only the higher seed gets its own, set-up locker room.
Some think that moving the women’s tournament up would also increase TV ratings for the event, however the concerns come from the attendance battle.
“I don’t know how many fans are going to take 10 or 11 days off of work,” Fennelly said. “I don’t think most people could do that. I think it’s going to split the media.”
Fennelly has long had this opinion, and although he and others have been vocal about it over the years, it’s fallen on deaf ears.
“I don’t know what else to say,” Fennelly said. “I’ve been on this track forever. Our administration has been on this track for ever. To have them at the same time (and) in the same city is the best way to do it. I think it’s the best for the fans. That’s just my opinion and I’ll probably get in trouble – and that’s O.K., I’ve been in trouble before.”
Now, ahead of the final tournaments set to take place within the same five days, the realization is setting in more.
The perfect setup, as Fennelly has called it, will not continue – at least without a drastic shift in thought by those at the top.
“I’m just disappointed because our kids love it,” Fennelly said. “I think the idea of the fans going back and forth (between arenas for different games) and having the pep rally together…
“Everything that’s the celebration of basketball in the Big 12, to me, has been better when it’s together, but smarter people that make those decisions don’t agree.”
