clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Hartford And Detroit Mercy: What Just Happened?

A bit of transparency would be useful at both

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament-Hartford at Baylor
 Mar 19, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Hartford Hawks guard PJ Henry (11) and guard Austin Williams (20) walk off the court after the Baylor Bears beat the Hartford Hawks in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. 
Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports

In the broader college basketball world there are two stories right now that are hard to understand.

First, what in the world has happened to Detroit Mercy’s women’s basketball team?

The team had objections to coach Ann-Marie Gilbert and expressed them in one voice and though they said they’d take the court for an assistant, refused to play for Gilbert.

So the university essentially told them to take a hike and canceled the season.

Only one player was left on the roster and the AD told her she could keep her scholarship but wouldn’t be on the team next year.

No one outside of a very small group of people knows what happened there but you’d think between the players, coach and university, could have found a better solution.

And at Hartford, fresh off its first NCAA appearance, the university has decided to move to D-III, which has not gone over well with everyone. Worse, they told the coach immediately after losing to Baylor in March. The team hadn't even returned home.

The university says it is losing $13 million per year on basketball but other studies suggest it’s not as much and emphasize lost revenue as well.

Like Detroit Mercy, whatever ends up happening, Hartford could have certainly handled this better.