The internet is aflame with the problems surrounding the women's basketball program and Marisa Moseley. It's a mess in a variety of ways that the Wisconsin Athletics Department needs to do something about. It's time for a coaching change, and it needs to be done sooner rather than later. There are four significant reasons the Wisconsin women's program is a mess.
Let's order this list in reverse order, from what matters the least to what matters the most.
1. Struggles in recruiting
Wisconsin women's basketball has struggled for years in recruiting, and it hasn't gotten better under Moseley. One could argue that it's actually getting worse. Leah Nordin, an in-state product, has recently committed, but as the post above highlights, they are so far away from recruiting among the top names in basketball that it's not even close.
Another WBB follow up, specifically about recruiting. Yes, I know recruiting matters, but the UW is so far from being an elite program, that they can just cross off the Kussows, Ogunbowales, Ziebells, and Mallegnis right now, and admin shouldn't even consider the possibilities.
— Badgermaniac (@THEbadgermaniac) January 28, 2025
2. The program is buried in secrecy
Will Marisa Moseley give a press conference...about this or literally anything else this season?
— Badgers Ball Knower (@BadgersBallKnow) January 28, 2025
Why doesn't she have to give press conferences like the other coaches? Is Wisconsin hiding her from the public?
How many other current/former UW players have stories like Towers'?
Recently, with some of the struggles Wisconsin fans have noticed, Moseley hasn't held press conferences or publically addressed things. This is only partially true. She does do post-game press conferences, but they don't make it to the internet, and supposedly, it's only 2-4 media members present in the room. Therefore, getting a quote from Moseley comes from those articles.
Her next press conference has a chance to be filled up with all the recent drama surrounding the program. However, even the statement released this week was through veiled means, not posted on the website or sent via their social media channels. It was only sent to reporters and sites that asked for a statement. Back to the original point by the social media account above, there are a lot of things that happen in the program that are never addressed. That's alarming. What did happen to Tessa Grady?
When things are going well, a coach who barely does media requests is whatever because that coach is winning. However, when things are going bad, it feels to the average fan as if the coach is being hidden away. The University doesn't want their coach to face the music of a struggling program.
3. Struggles on the court
This team is bad at winning basketball games. It's as simple as that. The Badgers have lost eight straight games, and it's hard to look at their upcoming games and find a win. Maybe against Penn State or Purdue, but those are both away games, so probably not. It's rough, and it doesn't appear to be getting better.
This alone is a fireable offense, especially in her fourth season. The Badgers aren't getting better, and a season that was supposed to be a huge step forward has been actually a big step back.
4. Allegations toward Moseley and her staff
This one is big, and it's why it's last on this list. Rumblings from former students about the culture at Wisconsin in the women's basketball program need to be taken seriously. The school did say they are looking into them, but what former players are saying, specifically Tessa Towers, is alarming. The school has a huge responsibility to take those allegations as a heavyweight and work through them.
This is a strong list of problems with the Wisconsin women's program. One of them is a fireable offense for many other elite programs, two of them, and it happened yesterday; four are terrible, and Wisconsin has to move on from Moseley. It's time.