Luke Dunavant
Head Ole Miss Women’s Basketball Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, commonly referred to as Coach Yo, had some serious words after the Rebels beat the Florida Gators 81-70. The statements came in reference to the attendance at the game — or the lack thereof.
“What I’m trying to get the Oxford community to do is to catch up, because the rest of the world has caught up on the fact that women’s sports is legit,” she said.
Her comments caused an uproar among the Rebel fanbase and even caught national attention with sites like Sports Illustrated and On3 picking it up. Since her postgame press conference, Coach Yo has referenced her statements in some fashion in nearly every media appearance. She has also been quite vocal on X.
The Ole Miss Women’s Basketball program has seen sustained success over the past three years under Coach Yo, and her frustration with the evident lack of support from fans seems to have boiled over.
“How does a team that goes to the Sweet 16, that only has two losses, not have an average of 5,000 people in the stands?” she said.
While the program set an attendance record with 9,074 fans in the stands versus LSU on Jan. 7, some would say that was only because LSU came to town. The men’s team is averaging 7,292 fans per game this season, while the women’s team is averaging 3,542.
“There have been 14, 16, 11, ten thousand people that have been at women’s sports games (at certain individual events) in college,” Coach Yo said. “We need to catch up.”
The South Carolinas and the LSUs of the world see consistent attendance that far outshines that of Ole Miss games. One key factor could be national recognition. Both of those teams are recent NCAA Tournament champions, are currently ranked nationally and have players and coaches who are well-known by fans of the sport across the country.
Ole Miss has outstanding players and a top-tier coaching staff. Ole Miss is a massive athletics brand; the foundation is there, the pieces are in place. Ole Miss has a passionate student fanbase that loves athletics, and it falls on these students to provide the support Coach Yo is seeking.
“It’s unfortunate that women’s basketball is in this state on campus,” Eli Keel, a freshman political science major, said. “Club Red could help in theory, but in the end it is on the students to come to the games, no matter how good or bad the team is.”
No one goes to bat for her team more than Coach Yo does, and her passion and love for the game has caught the eye of some students on campus
“Coach Yo’s advocacy for her team is very admirable. Given the women’s team’s performance, it is no surprise that she is calling for a more appropriate response from our community,” senior geology major Hannah Cleveland said. “Our school benefits from their success, and we should show them the support that they deserve.”
People are paying more attention to women’s basketball more than ever, and Coach Yo simply advocates for a sport, a team, a university and a town that she cares about deeply.
After her recent win against Tennessee, Coach Yo said, “(I’m) really grateful for everyone that showed up. One thing I really need to make clear: Oxford is home to me. When I spoke about community, I meant our community.”
