OU Softball's Patty Gasso Urges NCAA to Rethink WCWS Schedule Format
Oklahoma Sooners head coach Patty Gasso took a minute at the end of her press conference to address the NCAA on Monday night.
The Sooners had just been eliminated from the Women's College World Series in a 3-2 loss to Texas Tech and their fearless leader asked the media members in attendance if she could go on a soapbox for one second.
Her rant was a little longer than a second but she made her point very clear, change needs to happen.
“Because I’m old enough, I don’t care what anyone thinks..”
— Bob Przybylo (@BPrzybylo) June 3, 2025
Patty Gasso asks for the end of the *if game doubleheader.
“It’s unfair to the athletes.” pic.twitter.com/G1Sk6h1csT
"I've been in this tournament enough, and there's one thing that has to change, and I've got to say it out loud, and I hope the committee is going to look at this," Gasso stated.
"If we are all about women's athletics and women's sports and rah rah, do not make us play double headers to get to a national championship series. Do not do that. Don't do that. They don't do it in baseball. It should not happen.
"So we were to win or if Texas Tech were to lose and they made it all the way here undefeated, if they were to lose to us and then we have to play another game right after, that is not fair. It's not fair to them more than it is not fair to us because we didn't get there on the road, they did.
"But we've got to make changes. We've got to put money into this. People will watch. They'll come back and they'll watch the next day. I believe that they will because this is one of the most-watched championships in any sport.
"Why wouldn't you want to come back and watch that if game, or would you rather watch us have zero energy left and you're not able to throw your best because you're just trying to scrap it together? It's unfair for the athletes at this high level."
The WCWS schedule is slightly different than baseball and this is one of the of differences. If the semifinals reach an if necessary game, it would be played 30 minutes after the final out of the first game. Baseball plays its game the next day.
Perhaps, Gasso has a point and this will just be one of the many changes coaches will propose to the committee.
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-1d7db99dccc9abef7b9378f016b22b68.webp "Maren Angus-Coombs")
Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.