BLOOMINGTON — The Indiana University Women’s basketball team is having a great season. They are ranked number five in the nation and are undefeated.
But the women’s talent isn't what people have been talking about the last few days. Instead, it's the venue in which they played during the Las Vegas Invitational.
"This is not what was described to us as far as what the venue was going to look like what the set up was going to look like, " Teri Moren the Head IU Women’s Basketball coach said.
The Las Vegas invitational was held in a banquet hall at the Mirage Hotel. While coach Moren said these types of events have been held in banquet halls before, this venue didn't meet the teams’ expectations per the tournament's promises.
"What's disappointing is the aesthetics,” Moren said. “It's not a fan-friendly environment. As I said to the site coordinator, as women’s basketball coaches we are trying to move our game forward."
The IU women's basketball game on Saturday against Memphis also started late. According to the play-by-play announcer for the women’s team, a player from Auburn University hit her head during the previous game. Since there wasn't an EMT or paramedic in sight, the Auburn game had to be paused, which forced the IU game to start later than anticipated.
"It took about 45 minutes to get the ambulance to the arena before she was able to be lifted up into the stretcher and taken off the floor,” Austin Render the play-by-play broadcaster for Indiana University Women’s Basketball said. “So that pushed our game back about an hour and 20 minutes. “
Jennifer Drobac is a law professor at Indiana University and an expert on Title 9 which prohibits sex-based discrimination at any school that receives federal funding. She says it's unclear if any Title IX violations were committed but says the university and the NCAA needs to do better.
"We need to as we would say up our game and the organizers need to really start playing in the big leagues when it comes to addressing women’s sports,” Drobac said.
While the women’s team won at the tournament both the coach and those close to the team say the condition of the venue was a loss for women’s basketball.
"This was a major miss in my opinion in terms of helping to grow this game,” Moren said.
"IU had some incredible performances in this event and here we are talking more so about the venue and the tournament itself,” Render said. “So to me that's the biggest disappointment."
A representative from the women’s basketball team says they are not sure if the tournament is being held next year. But even if it is, IU will not be going back.
The Mirage hotel, where the event was held had this to say in a statement following the criticism.
“We take great pride in hosting events of all sizes and providing world-class experiences and accommodations to our guests. Even though MGM Resort and The Mirage were not responsible for organizing or sponsoring the Las Vegas Invitational, as a champion for women’s athletics we regret that this tournament failed to meet expectations. Mr. Polk is not an employee, and we will not be working with his company in the future.”
-
Exciting changes to Scripps News' website, mobile and streaming apps
Improvements to our digital products are a direct result of feedback from Scripps News viewers and readers.Riley Hospital doulas working to slow minority maternal mortality rate
A new doula program at the Riley Maternity Tower aims to decrease maternal mortality rates in Indiana. The program is filling the gap for a historically excluded and undeserved group of mothers.Indianapolis FOP puts up billboard to highlight officer shortage
The president of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police Rick Snyder says that the billboard is letting the public know that officers want to do their best to serve the publicRamp metering to begin on I-465 in May
Starting next week, you'll see the traffic lights flashing yellow to get you prepared for the change. Then starting Monday, May 6, the ramp metering will go into effect.