Written By: USF Athletics Sr. Writer Joey Johnston
TAMPA, Fla. – June 2, 2025 – Even beyond what’s best for his USF Bulls, head coach Jose Fernandez said he cares deeply about what’s best for women’s basketball.
“I would like to be a voice for our coaches at all levels,’’ Fernandez said.
Fernandez will get that opportunity. He has begun serving a two-year term as president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). He will work closely with executive director Danielle Donehew, whom he “respects so much for all she has done for our game.’’
The 44-year-old WBCA organization has more than 3,000 members — coaches of women’s and girls’ basketball from high school to college to the WNBA, along with administrators and other stakeholders. It works toward professional development, potential rule changes, recruiting issues, and promoting the sport, while serving as the game’s chief advocate and conscience for the coaching profession.
“With the growth of women’s basketball and how schools are investing more in the sport, a lot is going on right now, and the NCAA often leans on the WBCA for direction and guidance,” Fernandez said. “Our responsibility is doing what’s best for all of the 360 Division I institutions that play women’s basketball and all levels beyond that.
“I’ve been doing this for 25 years (as USF’s head coach), but it’s exciting and invigorating to be involved with the WBCA and USA Basketball. It’s a way to give back to the game. I think all coaches have a responsibility to do that, and I’m grateful to get this chance to make an impact and hopefully keep women’s basketball on a great trajectory.’’
Fernandez’s peers said he’s a perfect person for the job.
“Jose is one of the really elite coaches in our great game,’’ said UCLA head coach Cori Close, a former WBCA president. “I have total respect for how he thinks and teaches the game. Competitors make each other better, and each time we have played, Jose has made me a better coach.
“In the WBCA, everyone takes off their institutional hats and truly makes sacrifices for the game. One of the things I love about Jose is that it’s really never about him. It’s truly about what’s best for the game. He wants to know what changes are needed to benefit the most amount of people. He gives of his knowledge in a very transformational way, not a transactional way.’’
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said Fernandez has been one of his closest coaching friends for three decades, dating to when the Huskies and Bulls were Big East Conference rivals.
“I think he’s a tremendous coach, obviously, as everybody knows, but he cares deeply about the game itself,’’ Auriemma said. “He puts in the time and effort.
“I was in that role (WBCA president), so I know it’s a thankless role because you’re trying to bring a lot of different agendas to the table and try to make them all go in the same direction. That’s not always easy. Hopefully he can get the right people in the room to be okay with thinking outside the norm and ask the right people for advice.’’
What are the biggest issues facing the WBCA?
* Helping to manage the game’s growth while exploring new exposure opportunities through television. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said she believes women’s basketball should have its own stand-alone television contract.
* With the transfer portal and NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) so prevalent, many coaches are concerned about the agents and advisors who surround their players. “These people don’t get paid unless their players transfer,’’ Close said. “It’s creating a landscape where you can’t outwork people (in recruiting) and you can’t coach the players the same way. I think it’s teaching the wrong lessons. The systematic things are putting us in danger.’’
* Auriemma wants the NCAA Women’s Tournament to return to four regional sites (it was reduced to two in recent seasons), so the big games can be exposed to more in-house fans. He also said he wants a schedule change so the Women’s Final Four isn’t crammed into the same weekend as the Men’s Final Four. “Maybe have it a week earlier than the men, like we already do with a lot of conference tournaments,’’ Auriemma said.
* Fernandez wants to examine how women’s basketball teams are rated for NCAA Tournament consideration. The primary method is the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), which measures a variety of categories and the strength of opponents is broken up into “Quads’’ (with Quad 1 being the highest). “We need to look at the disparity between the NET and Quad system differences in women’s and men’s basketball,’’ Fernandez said. “I think there are flaws in the formula in regards to margin of victory and other things. I think it needs to be better explained and really dissected.’’
Fernandez, who served a two-season term as vice president before being elevated to the top spot, said he wants the WBCA to be an advocate for all coaches.
“We can express our opinions, make recommendations, and take stances as an organization,” Fernandez said. “There are also instances when coaches are not asked for their opinions, when they really should be asked. It all comes under the umbrella of doing what’s best for the game, and I believe, bottom line, that’s what all of us women’s basketball coaches ultimately care about.
“This is a time of great change. We’re on the verge of the schools being able to pay the players. You have to embrace these changes. Adapt or die, as they say. I don’t think it takes away from how you manage your staff, how you manage your players, how you prepare for games, or how you coach during games. We have to continue growing our sport because it has never been as popular or marketable as it is right now.’’
Fernandez will lead that charge as WBCA president.
“There are always challenges, and my challenge (as WBCA president) was gender equity (in 2021, when there was a disparity of NCAA Tournament services for women’s and men’s basketball),’’ Close said. “When my team got to Tampa (for the 2025 Women’s Final Four) at our hotel, we knew all the prizes were the same for women and men, and the workout rooms were the same. People like to bash the NCAA, but we were able to work with them to bring change.
“Now Jose can do the same thing with the issues we’re facing now. As salaries increase, as attendance goes up, as more money comes into our sport, it’s easy to become self-absorbed and allow that to be toxic. I know Jose won’t waver one bit. As we experience exponential growth, there’s also an exponential temptation to forget who we are and how we got here. Jose will have the right perspective. He will be a great WBCA president.’’
Auriemma agrees.
“There are a lot of things about the game that I want to talk to him about, and he might be the one guy who will ask me,’’ Auriemma said with a smile. “So that’s not a bad thing.’’
“Jose is a great guy and a true dog lover — I think he has like eight rescues (dogs) — and he has been in our game a very long time,’’ Staley said. “You want somebody in that position who really loves our game, somebody who has served for a long time, and somebody who is really going to move the needle. I think Jose is that guy.’’
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ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
South Florida women’s basketball has made 19 postseason tournament appearances and had 10 NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 25 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided the Bulls to 12 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2008-09 WNIT championship, and has won 485 career games, and is the all-time wins leader in the American Athletic Conference.
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