Ucla's Cori Close Says Success Takes A Toll On Coaches In Modern College Sports Era

SACRAMENTO — Cori Close’s candid remarks astir nan increasing challenges of coaching successful modern assemblage athletics sparked a guidance nationwide among her peers.

On Thursday, nan UCLA women’s hoops coach was asked astir nan accelerated changes shaping assemblage sports up of her Bruins’ Sweet 16 matchup against Minnesota connected Friday night. The No. 1-seeded Bruins (33-1) entered nan Sweet 16 information considered a beardown Final Four contender, powered by 1 of nan deepest starting lineups successful nan nation.

“I’ve ne'er been arsenic tired arsenic I’ve been successful nan past 2 years, and it’s made maine deliberation really overmuch longer I tin do this,” Close said. “And I’m conscionable being transparent pinch you astir that. There are truthful galore things that are harder, and we support losing unthinkable group connected nan men’s and nan women’s side.”

UCLA has dominated passim nan season, entering nan Sweet 16 connected a 27-game winning streak that dates to precocious November. Three starters — Lauren Betts, Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens — began their assemblage careers elsewhere earlier transferring into nan program.

“How do we now fig retired this transportation portal? Let’s not kick astir it,” Close said. “Let’s person solutions astir what’s correct and what adjustments request to beryllium made. … I’m a immense advocator for NIL. It should person happened 20 years ago. And we request boundaries. We request infrastructure. We request competitory equity. We request transparency.”

In contrast, Louisville coach Jeff Walz offered a much captious position erstwhile addressing nan aforesaid taxable during a NCAA news convention successful Fort Worth, Texas.

UCLA defender Kiki Rice points crossed nan tribunal while talking pinch Bruins coach Cori Close during an NCAA tourney triumph complete California Baptist astatine Pauley Pavilion connected March 21.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“I’m friends pinch Cori,” Walz said. “My favourite line, I would show her, if you don’t for illustration your job, find a caller job. I mean, I’m listening this greeting astatine 4:20 arsenic nan workers extracurricular my model astatine nan edifice successful nan thoroughfare are working. I mean, you take your profession. If you don’t for illustration it, find a caller profession.”

No. 3-seeded Louisville will look No. 2 Michigan connected Saturday aft falling short against Duke successful nan ACC title game.

Close, who has spent 33 years successful coaching, including 15 astatine UCLA, has navigated an evolving scenery shaped by name, image and likeness compensation policies and nan transportation portal, conscionable for illustration everyone else. Last season, she earned nationalist coach of nan twelvemonth and led nan Bruins to nan program’s first Final Four. UCLA has now reached astatine slightest nan Sweet 16 during 4 consecutive seasons and 8 times during Close’s tenure successful Westwood.

This year, nan Bruins swept done Big Ten play undefeated and erstwhile again secured a No. 1 seed successful nan NCAA tournament.

“I mean, of course, it’s a batch of work, but we chose to do it and we get compensated for it,” Walz said. “I don’t deliberation anybody is going to consciousness excessively sorry for america that you mightiness beryllium tired. I’m tired, too, but who is not?”

Several longtime coaches person stepped distant from nan crippled successful caller years, amid, though not ever straight attributed to, nan sport’s ongoing transformation. Hall of Fame Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer retired successful 2025, while Georgia Tech’s Nell Fortner, Iowa’s Lisa Bluder and Harvard’s Kathy Delaney-Smith stepped down during nan past 3 seasons.

“It’s ever-changing, and that’s nan frustrating part, because you tin ne'er get a grasp connected immoderate of it,” Kentucky coach Kenny Brooks said. “You deliberation that you person it. Then each of a sudden, it’s for illustration personification pulls a rug retired and says, ‘No, we’re changing it,’ and now it’s going to beryllium this measurement now. We want to get retired up of everything, but we can’t. We ever look for illustration we’re 1 measurement down because location are truthful galore changes.”

Ultimately, Close’s connection centered connected nan request for structural support successful a quickly shifting environment.

“If there’s 1 point I would inquire of our governing bodies and nan NCAA and our administrations is please create infrastructure and boundaries that create an opportunity to person sustained excellence and sustainable pace,” she said. “Otherwise, we are going to proceed to suffer immoderate of our champion coaches, and I do not deliberation our crippled tin spend to do that.”