Dayton, Purdue and Texas A&M's women's basketball teams have all dropped out of an event held in Las Vegas after concerns the conditions would be similar to the one held in a Strip resort this past Thanksgiving.
“We are all about giving our players the opportunity to play the game they love,” Texas A&M coach Joni Taylor said in a statement. “Given the circumstances surrounding the Las Vegas Invitational, we decided to withdraw from the tournament. We are very thankful to Purdue for being adaptable and for allowing us to host them instead.”
During Feast Week, Indiana women's basketball team traveled to Nevada to participate in the Las Vegas Invitational. When they arrived, the Hoosiers were stunned by the difference between what they were promised it would look like compared to actuality. Medical personnel was not provided while fans had to sit in fold out chairs.
“I think there are other people who probably need to apologize as well for wanting us to come and play in this event and making promises, if you will,” Indiana's head coach Teri Moren said last week. “This is not what was described to us a far as what the venue was going to look like, what the setup was going to look like.”
As for the upcoming tournament in Las Vegas, the operations manager wasn't unhappy to see the other three teams leave.
“The five teams that are going to be at the South Point were five teams we already had,” Bret Seymour said. “To be honest, our other five are happy they [the three that withdrew] aren't there anymore because they like it as a non-Power 5 event. We took those three to help. It's OK. It's really actually better for us because they're not there this year for that particular event.”
Follow Us
Subscribe