To their credit, Coach Auriemma and his players downplayed comparisons with the men’s streak.? Rightfully so, given the comparative lack of depth in the women’s game?relative to the men’s game.
On its own merits, the Huskies’ winning streak is a great achievement and deserves our attention and respect.? Perhaps it speaks to Coach Auriemma’s doggedness in recruiting that the Huskies’ program can seemingly hoard a disproportionate share of top players year after year.? Coach Pat Summitt, legendary women’s basketball coach at Tennessee, has at times questioned Coach Auriemma’s recruiting tactics…so much so that the schools have discontinued playing each other.
But you still have to “coach ‘em up”, and seemingly Coach Auriemma is one of the best ever in doing so.
That said, all this discussion over the last week as made me think of another great Division I women’s coach who arguably has had an even greater string of success than Coach Auriemma.
That coach?would be Mr. Anson Dorrance, women’s soccer coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel?Hill.
Consider these facts:
- The Tar Heels’ record under Coach Dorrance is 715-39-24 over 32 seasons dating back to 1979…that’s a non-losing percentage of approximately 0.950;
- Chapel Hill has won 20 of?29 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championships contested since the sport became an NCAA championship-sanctioned sport in 1982, or better than 2 out of every 3;
- And on the topic of streaks, (a) Coach Dorrance?has led his team to a 101-game unbeaten streak in the past and (b) their loss in this year’s NCAA?3rd round?to Notre Dame marked the first time in 607 matches that the Tar Heels had lost by more than 1 goal.
Dorrance’s dominance trumps Auriemma’s aura, but let’s face the fact that we are splitting hairs and dynasties when comparing these men.? After all, aside from the Huskies’?current record-breaking streak:
- Coach Auriemma has won 7 championships in 25 years at Connecticut;
- His coaching record with the Huskies is a formidable 746-122 (0.859 win percentage) including their 11-0 start to the 2010-11 season.
When you consider how dominant these 2 programs have been in their respective sports, though,?you then?start looking at the broader topic of competitive imbalance among Division I women’s team sports.? Since 1981:
- In women’s field hockey, 4 schools have won 25 of 29 championships (Old Dominion, North Carolina, Wake Forest, and Maryland);
- In women’s volleyball,?6 schools have won 26 of 29 championships (USC, UCLA, Penn State, Stanford, Long Beach St., Nebraska);
- In women’s basketball, 5 schools have won 21?of 29 championships (Connecticut, Tennessee, USC, Louisiana Tech, Stanford);
- And in women’s soccer, 3 schools have won 25 of 28 championships (North Carolina, Notre Dame, Portland).
In short, the depth of?talent distribution for each of these sports is sufficiently small that it enables a high degree of “industry concentration” and market dominance for a select group of schools?within each?sport.
The Connecticut 89-game winning streak is?a testament?to a program and a coach that should be commended for consistent excellence and tireless effort.
But when you consider that his dominance is not an?isolated occurrence in women’s collegiate athletics,?it makes one wonder if and when the lack of depth in competition for many women’s team sports will ever be large enough to create more general buzz and interest?beyond the “niche demos” that currently?follow these sports.
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