New Haven Register
Elm City to Eagleville
A blog on UConn women's basketball
Lady Vols: thanks but no thanks
The contract was sitting there and all was needed was a signature for the premier rivalry in women's college sports to continue for another two years. But there were no rush of Volunteers - pun intended - looking for the nearest pen in the Tennessee athletic department. For reasons they have not disclosed, Tennessee opted out of its annual regular-season series with UConn. The rivalry, which began in 1995, was more than just a boon to the two programs - it drove the sport of women's basketball to remarkable heights of popularity.
Yet that wasn't enough for Tennessee to re-up with UConn. The Tennessee hierarchy was being tight lipped on Friday so itis unknown whether Tennessee coach Pat Summitt finally tired of the antics of UConn's verbally flippant head coach Geno Auriemma who saved some of his best barbs for Summitt and the Lady Vols or whether the pain of having UConn pluck all-everything recruit Maya Moore out from the noses of Tennessee played a role in the decision. There is another theory bouncing around my head that Summitt may have wanted to rid herself of the extra distractions that go with the UConn/Tennessee games years ago but her pride would not allow her to walk away while UConn had the upper hand in the rivalry. But with Tennessee having won the last three games in the series and winning its seventh national title, the Lady Volunteers find themselves as the top dogs in women's basketball once again so if there was a time to make the break with the Huskies, this was it.
This much is known, the decision is fool hardy regardless of the ultimate reason for the breakup. One look at the list of Tennessee attendance record book and the first question begging to be asked is "are you out of your minds."
The top four regular-season crowds and five of the top six in women's basketball history are UConn games at Tennessee. The Lady Vols' top three home crowds featured UConn while Tennessee's top five away crowds occurred at the Hartford Civic Center against the Huskies.
Personally, I will miss the regular season UConn/Tennessee meeting. It was the one game to circle on the calendar every year. It was impossible to overpromote a game of that magnitude.
Make no mistake, Tennessee and UConn don't need each other. The Lady Vols have all the pieces to defend its national title and win an unprecedented eighth national title while the addition of Moore and Lorin Dixon make UConn a strong candidate to secure national title No. 6. Both teams have rugged enough non-conference schedules and have enough tests during the conference seasons to prepare them for March Madness. One regular season game isn't going to make or break either team's season but the sport of women's basketball needs this game. The casual women's basketball fan might not be able to name five current players but they know that UConn/Tennessee is the one game they shouldn't miss. Now they have no choice.
Eventually the reasons for Tennessee's decision will come out. Did Auriemma's big mouth push things to the point of no return? Is Summitt so infuriated about losing Moore that she is willing to turn her back on the rivalry that has pushed the sport to remarkable levels?
Will UConn and Tennessee meet this year? It definitely could happen at the Final Four in Tampa. If that is the case, would anybody care to take a guess on the over/under on the number of questions surrounding the restarting of this magical rivalry? The series may be over but the intrigue regarding the cause of the Lady Vols' decision won't be dying down any time in the near future.
