March Madness was raging in Santa Barbara 25 years ago. On the heels of a 30-win season, a 26-game winning streak, and a top-15 national ranking, UCSB was one of the schools chosen to host the first two rounds of the 2000 NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
It was a memorable time in the life of Cori Close, who is about to venture into the 2025 tournament as head coach of UCLA’s No. 1–ranked team. A few days after the Bruins won the Big 10 tournament title and achieved their own 30-win season for the first time, Close reflected on the week the Gauchos were the talk of the town.
“I’ll never forget the way the community came out,” she said. People lined up hours before the tickets went on sale at the Thunderdome, and the entire allotment of 5,800 sold out in 90 minutes.