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Women’s college basketball has had to take a backseat to the new era of college sports, yet reaped all the downsides of what many believe has become the Wild, Wild West.
Football, with a touch of men’s basketball, was the starting point for conference realignment. Those who committed to UCLA to play women’s basketball just three years ago certainly hadn’t played about half of their games east of the Mississippi on their bingo cards.
But like football and men’s basketball, women’s basketball players have fallen victim to potentially chasing the NIL money.
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Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins cuts down the net after winning the Spokane regional championship against the LSU Lady Tigers 72-65 in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Spokane Arena on March 30, 2025 in Spokane, Washington. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
“The day after we got off the plane for the Final Four, we had six kids leave our program,” UCLA women’s basketball coach Cori Close said in a recent interview with Pakinomist. “And I believe that there really are reasons to transfer. So I’m not at all implying that all kids are chasing the money. That’s not the case. But I do believe that it makes it easier and motivates kids to chase the wrong things.”
That’s why Close is trying to exemplify making a mark in Southern California. UCLA and Close partnered with Wescom Financial to support the Wescom Foundation’s Fire Emergency Initiative by canceling $10 million in debt for people affected by the 2025 Southern California wildfires in Altadena and Pacific Palisades.
During the games this season, Close has hosted some of the debt forgiveness recipients, meeting with them and hearing their stories about how they were affected by the wildfires.
“It’s one of those things that was really a no-brainer. It was just the kind of thing that I want to be a part of, that I want to learn from, that I want to get better at. And so when the opportunity came to partner with Wescom Financial and to do something with such significance and importance, it was really a no-brainer,” Close said.
Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins celebrates a 67-63 victory over the Creighton Bluejays during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament – Second Round at UCLA Pauley Pavilion on March 25, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Harry How/Getty Images)
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Close admitted that getting her players involved in the community isn’t easy, considering they’re trying to win a national championship on the field and build their brands off of it. But Close mentioned that her team leads the NCAA in assists per game. match, and she tries to instill help in others both on and off the floor.
“When you look at it like that, how can I add value to somebody else? How can I make somebody better? And you get a lot of purpose and meaning out of it, you know, I think it makes us better people, but I also think it makes us a better basketball team, too,” Close said.
Close said she had many locals contact her over the past year as thanks, as watching or going to a Bruins game helped them forget their harsh new realities from the fires. She said that love was actually able to take the pressure off the players to perform as they battled for a national title.
“When you feel pressure, you’ve probably forgotten your why. And then people don’t burn out on things because they do too much. They burn out because they lose track of their why. And so actually it was probably one of the best things that could have happened to us from a pressure point of view, because you always know that someone else is dealing with things that you have a lot more difficulty with,” said the basketball game.
Head coach Cori Close of the UCLA Bruins celebrates after a game against the LSU Lady Tigers in the Elite Eight round of the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament held at Spokane Arena on March 30, 2025 in Spokane, Washington. (Tyler McFarland/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
“I’m just going to, you know what? We’re going to be an inspiration to others. We’re going to bring joy to someone else. We’re going to bring a bag of clothes to someone who made their documentary about us who lost her house. We’re going to bring her a big bag of clothes. We’re going to be a part of that.”
