When we heard that the NCAA considered Geno Auriemma's call to Little League World Series star Mo'ne Davis an infraction, our first thought was "The NCAA continues to be one big joke." Our second thought, which came seconds later: "So, who would rat Auriemma out?"
Because complaints can be made anonymously our knee-jerk reaction was "This has Notre Dame written all over it." But a report claims that the complaint didn't come from an ACC or AAC school, which means the Fighting Irish had nothing to do with it.
That brings us to another long-time UConn rival: Tennessee. But SNY.com's Carl Adamec writes, "Don't blame Tennessee this time. According to Knoxville News-Sentinel's Dan Fleser, the Volunteers didn't contact the NCAA either.
The Tennessee-UConn rivalry goes back years. Details via Adamec:
In 2007, the NCAA launched an investigation into the UConn women’s program after receiving a complaint from the Southeastern Conference. The SEC asked the NCAA to look into an allegation that UConn had arranged an ESPN tour for Maya Moore during an unofficial recruiting visit in 2005 after receiving a complaint from Tennessee. The three-time Wade Trophy winner received improper benefits the NCAA said. UConn admitted to a secondary violation.
Tennessee and UConn have not played since Jan. 6, 2007. That summer, former Tennessee Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt ended the series unilaterally.
Current Lady Vols’ coach Holly Warlick approached Auriemma 15 months ago during the 2013 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction weekend in Knoxville, Tenn., about renewing the rivalry. A source said that for UConn to possibly to agree to play, Tennessee has “explaining” to do from Summitt’s decision of now seven years ago and how its actions put Auriemma, some of his players, and the way he runs his program in a very negative light.
