Big Ten basketball media days began inside Target Center in Minneapolis on Tuesday and it’s apparently a thorn in the side of some coaches.
“Bunch of unhappy coaches today that the Big Ten Media Day is in Minneapolis,” said Jeff Goodman, one of the top college basketball reports in the country. “Media turnout will be significantly lower.”
“Should have it in either Chicago or Indy every year,” Goodman added.
Bunch of unhappy coaches today that the Big Ten Media Day is in Minneapolis.
Media turnout will also be significantly lower.
Should have it in either Chicago or Indy every year.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) October 11, 2022
Goodman didn’t say why coaches are upset, but nobody complained when Minneapolis hosted the women’s Final Four in April and a record 216,890 fans attended. Will they whine when Minneapolis hosts the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament in 2023 and both the men’s and women’s conference tournaments in 2024?
Is it because Minneapolis isn’t centrally located the way Chicago and Indy are to most Big Ten schools?
Minneapolis is only an hourlong flight from Chicago and 1 hour, 25 minutes by air from Indianapolis. Is that extra time on a plane for a too much to deal with? Was it too hard for media covering the Big Ten to get to Minneapolis with months and months of notice?
Does Minneapolis not have hotels and a skyway connected to Target Center?
Are the restaurants not good enough?
Related: Minneapolis’ Owamni named best new restaurant at James Beard awards
Is it too cold? The high temp in Minneapolis Tuesday is forecast to be 81.
Whatever it is, the coaches complaining about Minneapolis hosting a two-day event are really going to hate the cross-country flights for road games against USC and UCLA when they join the Big Ten.
Either way, Big Ten Network is carrying press conferences from Big Ten media days and Gophers basketball coaches Ben Johnson and Lindsay Whalen are scheduled to speak Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.
