LOS ANGELES — On Friday morning, players from the top-ranked UCLA women’s basketball team were scattered around the Mo Austin Center, each clutching a black-and-white composition book.
“Basketball is what I do, not who I am,” head coach Cori Close repeated to them in a firm, encouraging tone.
Each player had 10 to 12 “what happened” etchings from the morning’s lifts, film sessions, and practices. The aim was to free their minds from the ordeal of an extremely difficult day’s training ahead of a nine-day, three-game road trip that is also a historic period for women’s sport.
On January 15, the NCAA voted unanimously to approve a salary structure for women competing in the NCAA Tournament. Performance units representing revenue will be awarded to teams that advance to the tournament, and additional units will be awarded to teams that advance.
This is similar to the system used in men’s college basketball, but the revenue distributed through the men’s tournament exceeds the women’s tournament.
“The numbers don’t have to be the same now,” Close said. “Reflecting the growth of our sport, we needed a sense that we were not Title IX athletes to be checked. We were an extremely valuable asset worth investing in. And this is a huge It was a milestone.”
The money teams earn can be used in various areas of school athletics, including scholarships for athletes in all sports, coaching salaries, training facilities, stadiums, ballparks, and arenas.
UCLA (17-0 overall, 6-0 Big Ten Conference) has spent eight weeks at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 rankings, making it one of two remaining undefeated teams in the country along with LSU. . The Bruins’ 17-0 start is the best in program history, with 12 games remaining on the regular season schedule.
There is money to be made if the Bruins can maintain this pace of success, and Close hopes it will attract the attention of the university’s upper echelons.
“When both[men and women]have the opportunity to be a source of revenue for their universities and conferences, we encourage athletic directors, presidents and chancellors to put money into it because it’s an investment, not just one person. It’s motivating,” she said. you have to support. ”
It also provides motivation for individual teams to participate in the tournament. UCLA has prioritized character over talent this season, and that’s helping the Bruins stay in perspective with new developments in the sport.
“We want to keep going the extra mile and I think our mentality was still the same whether we got the incentives or not,” junior Gabriela Jaquez said.
“I don’t think we switched to being like, ‘Oh, we need more of that.’ But when we get that far, not only does it help us and our team, but it helps the school and our team. I think it’s really cool to be able to help.” I think that’s really cool too. ”
UCLA leaves for the Coretta Scott King Classic against Baylor on Saturday in Newark, N.J., and will play two more road games at Rutgers and No. 8 Maryland.
Lauren Betts, a 6-foot-7 center, had 22 points, 12 rebounds and seven steals in the game against Penn State, which was changed to Long Beach State because of the Southern California wildfires, making her 10th of the season. Achieved a double-double.
Kiki Rice is shooting .573 this season, and Betts, Angela Dugaric and Jania Barker all rank in the top 25 in the Big Ten in terms of rebounding.
It could all equate to a long tournament run, and now there are even more benefits. But the Bruins haven’t forgotten what they wrote in their diary or the words Crouse gave them.
“We want people to have a great perspective,” Close said. “And understand that basketball doesn’t make up our identity, there are bigger things we have to fight for.”
No. 1 UCLA vs. Baylor
When: Monday, noon Pacific time
Location: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
TV/Radio: FOX (Ch. 11)/UCLA Digital Radio
1st place UCLA Rutgers
When: Thursday, 4pm Pacific Time
Location: Jersey Mike’s Arena, Piscataway, New Jersey
TV/Radio: FS1/UCLA Digital Radio
1st place UCLA vs. 8th place Maryland
When: Sunday, January 26th, 11 a.m. Pacific Time
Location: XFINITY Center, College Park, Maryland
TV/Radio: NBC (Ch. 4)/UCLA Digital Radio
First Published: January 18, 2025 3:54 PM PST
