Cori Close acknowledges packed media room at UCLA-USC WBB clash after prior criticisms

As the UCLA women’s basketball program has broken through to the top of the sport over the past handful of years, head coach Cori Close has become one of the strongest advocates for media coverage in all of women’s basketball.

Throughout the season, with UCLA one of the favorites to win the national championship, Close has repeatedly called out poor attendance at press conferences and what she sees as the under-representation of her program in local media coverage.

But in front of a packed house of reporters assembled to watch the Bruins visit the USC Trojans on Sunday night, Close took a moment to acknowledge the increase in attention as the season peaks in March.

“Keep it up. We’re experiencing incredible (growth),” Close said.

“As we speak, our documentary is on Fox Sports 1. To have something like that, we want to grow the game. But one of the things I’ve learned this year is we need each other to continue to put our foot on the gas and tell the stories of these incredible women.”

In a jam-packed media room today, I asked Cori Close what that turnout means to her.

“(When) we won the championship, that night on every single news broadcast, there was not one women’s story in the sports section.”

She emphasized this isn’t anything against men’s coverage. pic.twitter.com/5eX2aYaify

— Ira Gorawara (@IraGorawara) March 2, 2026

After a road game at Ohio State in December, Close ripped the lack of L.A. and national media outlets in attendance for the ranked-on-ranked matchup. Close was not asked to hold a postgame press conference because there was just one reporter present to speak with her. Only the Orange County Register sent a writer to cover the game.

Later, the Associated Press (which Close specifically named in her critique), clarified that it had a freelancer on-site for the game. But that reporter was there solely to write a recap of the game before leaving to cover a Columbus Blue Jackets NHL game the same day.

Close responded with a more thorough appraisal, asking for “proportionate” coverage of women’s college hoops and other sports events. The coach also pledged to support “non-traditional” media that spent money to cover games.

This past weekend after UCLA beat USC in front of a much larger press corps, Close offered her appreciation. She also reminded the group about the upcoming Big Ten women’s basketball tournament in Michigan, claiming the team got no local television news coverage for winning the tournament in 2025.

After telling the media to “keep it up,” Close said it was not simply about giving UCLA its due, but about accurately representing the growth of women’s sports so that young fans and players see the sport as something to aspire to.

“This is not taking anything away from men’s coverage, but I think we can continue to push the envelope about how amazing these women are and just how much we are trying to grow the game,” she said.

“It’s not just for us, it’s for the role modeling. The statistics don’t lie (about) what playing sports specifically does, especially for young girls. And we need to make this, like, every kid’s dream. And it’s about our culture, not just women’s basketball games.”