Auriemma Not A Fan Of Notre Dame Football

NEW YORK — Leave it up to outspoken University of Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma to say what some in the Big East might be thinking.

Auriemma, holding court during the Big East women’s basketball media day this morning in New York, took a shot at Notre Dame for not being all in when it joined the Big East conference in the 1995-96 season and said the conference wouldn’t have the problems it has now if the Irish had joined in football instead of remaining independent.

Auriemma, saying he went to Catholic school all his life, said if Notre Dame had the Catholic spirit of helping the less fortunate, it would come to the rescue of the Big East and join the conference in football.

“In this whole thing, it’s only one sure thing, Notre Dame doesn’t play football in our league and that’s a bone of contention with a lot of us, Auriemma said. They don’t play in our league and they never want to play in our league. To a lot of us, it’s a huge problem.

“They’ve been in our league 18 years (sic), something like that. How long are we going to date before we decide this just ain’t working? I’m not happy about it. That’s not the opinion of the University of Connecticut, the Big East conference, my president, my athletic director. That’s just Geno Auriemma’s opinion. I’m pissed about it.

“If Notre Dame had come in as a football and basketball school when they came in, we wouldn’t have a problem with this (expansion). Miami wouldn’t have left. Virginia Tech wouldn’t have left. Boston College wouldn’t have left.

“We probably wouldn’t have any of these issues. It’s one school that holds the future of our league in the palm of their hands and they’re really not that concerned about it.”

Auriemma said that football is driving the entire issue and Notre Dame should take it upon itself as a Catholic institution to look out for the have-nots.

“They’re looking out for their best interest and I don’t blame them, ” he said. “But join us in football and then look out for your own best interest. I just don’t like the way we’ve gone about it.

“If you know that you as a school have the ability to put a whole bunch of schools at ease, and have the Catholic mentality that we’re