Cori Close sounds a warning on coaching's new grind as UCLA's postseason run rolls on

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Cori Close isn't sure how much longer she will be coaching. The responsibilities of coaches have changed a lot in her 33 years in the game, especially in the last few years.

“I’ve never been as tired as I’ve been in the last two years, and it’s made me think how much longer I can do this,” said Close, who will lead No. 1 seed UCLA against fourth-seeded Minnesota on Friday in the Sacramento Region 2 semifinal. “And I’m just being transparent with you about that. There are so many things that are harder, and we keep losing incredible people on the men’s and the women’s side."

Between the transfer portal, name, image and likeness and revenue sharing, coaching has changed. It's not just about recruiting players from high school, but also now about keeping a team together each season and figuring out how much money each player will make through revenue sharing.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said she welcomes change and likes the challenge of figuring out ways to be still be successful — something she's excelled at with three national championships in the last nine years.

“When that leaves me, then I know it's time for me to move on,” the 55-year-old Staley said.

Staley said she's seen the sport become more transactional the last few years.

“We can try to keep core principles of who we are as coaches and the sanctity of the team,” she said. “For me, I coach from my days being on the Olympic team. That is how I coach. Meaning I try to coach where the team is the team success. Then we know that individuals make up the success of a team. You deal with each player and have them try to get them in a position where they understand their worth.”

Staley has seen the change the last few years with the additions of NIL.

“NIL has really changed everything. Like it really has changed. I mean, how you have to move day to day. You got to make sure psychologically our kids are in a good place. Mentally, they’re in a good place, and they’re parents,” Staley said. “So you’re actually having to do a lot of work and if you’re not used to that part of it, you know, it will it will run you out of the business.”

Staley relishes the two hours each day that her team practices because nothing else enters the space at that time and she can just focus on coaching.

“The 22 hours beyond that, you have to go and exhaust yourself and make sure everyone is good from day-to-day, from week-to-week and definitely in the postseason,” Staley said.

The transfer portal was moved this year to open the day after the national championship game, as opposed to during the NCAA Tournament.

“If there’s one thing I would ask of our governing bodies and the NCAA and our administrations, it is please develop infrastructure and boundaries that create an opportunity to have sustained excellence and sustainable pace," said Close, who is in her 15th season at UCLA. "Otherwise, we are going to continue to lose some of our best coaches, and I do not think our game can afford to do that.”

UCLA has been on one of the best runs in its history, reaching the Final Four last season for the first time since the Bruins won the AIAW national championship in 1978. The Bruins continued that success this season, losing only once en route to winning the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles.

Some longtime coaches have stepped down over the past few seasons for a variety of reasons, including for health issues. Others have mulled retirement.

Louisville coach Jeff Walz didn't sound close to retirement when the 54-year-old in his 19th season with the Cardinals was told of Close's comments.

“I’m friends with Cori,” Walz said. “My favorite line, I would tell her, if you don’t like your job, find a new job. I mean, I’m listening this morning at 4:20 as the workers outside my window at the hotel in the street are working. I mean, you choose your profession. If you don’t like it, find a new profession.”

Walz was speaking before 8 a.m. Texas time Friday morning, the day before the Cardinals play Michigan in the Sweet 16 of the Fort Worth Regional 3.

“I mean, of course, it’s a lot of work, but we chose to do it and we get compensated for it,” Walz said. “I don’t think anybody is going to feel too sorry for us that you might be tired. I’m tired, too, but who is not?”

Wolverines coach Kim Barnes Arico said coaching fatigue is less about age and more about adaptation.

“A few years ago when all this started to come into play, I knew as a coach and I talked to our players and I talked to our staff, times are changing,” Barnes Arico said. “We need to evolve. We need to grow. We need to step up to the challenges, because if we can’t, the game, the landscape, all of it is going to pass us by.”

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