The subject is one that UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma would like to see die off. It’s been nearly a year since Tennessee coach Pat Summitt axed the high profile regular season series between the Lady Vols and the Huskies. Still, the subject still has plenty of momentum.
The momentum has been created by Summitt’s refusal to address the precise reason she cancelled the best series the sport has seen. Her steady replay has been “Geno knows.’’ And it is also because of the fact that the Tennessee – via the Southeastern Conference – blew the whistle on what it believed to be recruiting improprieties by UConn during its courtship of All-American Maya Moore.
Moore ultimately chose to play for Auriemma and the Huskies. It was a decision that infuriated Summitt. Auriemma again addressed the situation Tuesday during his 90-minute season-ending press conference at Gampel Pavilion.
“(Summitt) knows why we’re not playing,’’ Auriemma said. “I’m not the one that made the decision not to play. So she should just tell you why we’re not playing instead of saying, `Geno knows.’ I do know. She accused us of cheating at recruiting. She doesn’t have the courage to say it publicly. So, yeah, Geno does know. And I’ve said it.’’
The NCAA first investigated UConn last year when it was said that former All-Americans Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird drove Moore to the Naismith Award presentation in Atlanta during the spring of 2006. The NCAA learned that Bird and Taurasi were not in the country in this timeframe.
The Huskies were ultimately hit with a secondary violation, which is considered to be minor in nature, when it was discovered that a member of the program phoned ESPN to arrange a tour for Moore and her mother, Kathryn, in October of 2005.
Auriemma said that he does not see an end to the Cold War existing between he and Summitt. He also said that he does not foresee the two teams playing again during the regular season at any point soon.
“It doesn’t irk me,’’ Auriemma said. “With some people that’s just their style. They’re passive-aggressive. They always want to have somebody to blame for what’s going on. There’s a lot of things I know about a lot of people. That doesn’t mean I cancel the series. This is the same person who said if the Duke fans didn’t treat her players right she was going to cancel that series. So if people don’t stop misbehavin’ they’re only going to play a regular season scheduled with conference games. Unless that starts to bug them. So the bottom line is it’s not going to change. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not going to change.’’
Sarcastically, Auriemma said the only way he would again agree to play Tennessee would be if a proposed 10-game series included eight home games, one in Nashville, Tenn. and one in Memphis, Tenn. Tennessee is located in Knoxville.
“That would be my proposal to them,’’ Auriemma said. “That’s the only way I would do it.’’
There had been rumors that UConn and Tennessee could possibly meet in the Maggie Dixon Classic next season at Madison Square Garden. That will not happen.
The Huskies will meet Penn State at the event in mid-December. The second game will feature Rutgers and Army.
“If you’re not going to play here or there, you’re not going to play them at Madison Square Garden in a charity event that’s supposed to help a good cause,’’ Auriemma said. “How could they be involved in that? That would be something that’s good for the game.’’
The Huskies, who will be the prohibitive favorites to win the national championship, will host Oklahoma and LSU next season. They will also travel to North Carolina, which is a series Auriemma said will go on for a long time. There is no guarantee that the series with LSU will be extended beyond next season, although Auriemma would like to see it renewed.
Series with both Stanford and Duke are set to begin in the 2009-2010 season.
“There won’t be any problem finding people to play,’’ Auriemma said.
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