TAMPA, Fla. -- NCAA president Charlie Baker said Friday it likely isn't feasible to make any imminent changes to the NCAA women's basketball tournament's two-regional system, a format that drew criticism from UConn coach Geno Auriemma and Texas counterpart Vic Schaefer during regional play last week.
"Talk to everybody," Baker said ahead of the Final Four on Friday night. "There are a lot of coaches who do [like it]. Ask [South Carolina's] Dawn Staley. See what she says."
The women's tournament had four regionals -- just like the men's -- until 2023, when the NCAA switched to the current two-regional system. That decision was made before the inequities between the men's and women's tournaments were exposed in 2021 in the two pandemic "bubbles" for the events in Indianapolis and San Antonio.
The regional sites already have been awarded to cities though the 2028 tournament.
Auriemma, speaking in Spokane, Washington, last week, said the regional change had "ruined the game."
"Half the country has no chance to get to a game in person," he said. "In a normal world, run by normal people, there would only be four teams here."
Asked after UConn's 85-51 Final Four victory over UCLA about Baker's comments, Auriemma said, "There isn't a sense of urgency."
"If the intent -- and this is how misguided they are -- of two regionals was because attendance was going to be [great] ... they weren't sold-out," he said. "What you're saying when you have two regions is you don't care if half the country can't get to a game. Basically, that's what you're saying. But, yeah, you want to grow the game. I mean, come on, it makes no sense."
Auriemma had earlier pointed out, as did Schaefer in Birmingham, Alabama, that because eight teams must be accommodated in the same facility on the same days, there are early-morning practices and news conferences, which wouldn't be the case in four-team regionals.
Speaking last week, Staley agreed that things like shootarounds and practices can't be done at a "a reasonable hour." But otherwise, she said she liked the two-regional system.
"I like having seven other teams that [are] trying to advance to the Elite Eight and advance to the Final Four right in one place," Staley said while in Birmingham. "I do think it allows our fans, fans of women's basketball, to gravitate to one spot."
While some coaches contend the NCAA went to two regionals mainly to save money, the NCAA has maintained that wasn't the motivation. Baker, who took over for Mark Emmert in 2023, was not with the NCAA when the regional decision was made. But he said increasing attendance and creating "a better experience for the kids" was its goal.
Auriemma disagreed with that, saying "I'm just telling you the student-athletes, their experience sucks compared to the men's experience."
"So they want to do it on the cheap," Auriemma said after the game. "And then say how much money we're making, isn't the NCAA great. Look at the new TV package we got. And you know how much money we're making? Yeah, because we're shortchanging the kids in [not] giving them that best experience."
As to whether the NCAA could return to four regionals by keeping the cities already assigned through 2028 and adding others, Baker said it likely isn't an option.
"Keep in mind that when the sites in the future were booked, they were booked with an assumption about the number of teams that would be playing there," he said. "It will be really hard to change it at this point without rebidding the whole thing.
"I think the [women's basketball] committee talks about this issue on a pretty regular basis. That's the reason they made the decision to go to the two sites in the first place. I'm sure it'll be one of the things they talk about because they always have a big download after the tournament's over. If they believe there's an option that would create the same fan and student-athlete experience, I'm sure they'll take that under consideration."
Baker also addressed a few other issues Friday, including the date of the transfer portal opening, which this year was March 24.
Baker said the feedback the NCAA received from student-athletes was that delaying the opening of the portal any longer -- such as until after the NCAA men's and women's tournaments were over, as Auriemma and others have suggested -- could cause problems for students getting enrolled in summer school and other issues with moving to a new institution.
"So the transfer portal this year started a week later than it did last year," Baker said. "By starting it when it started this year, 91 percent of the teams were done playing.
"But there's no question that it creates a lot of traffic. And I'm sure it'll be one of those things we end up talking to both the basketball committees and to the student-athletes about what we do our download."