Sylvia Hatchell

If someone wearing light blue approaches you with ticket information for today’s NCAA women’s basketball tournament games here in Chattanooga, be friendly. They’re North Carolina’s basketball players, and they’re about to play a game.

OK, so coach Sylvia Hatchell was joking about her attempt to get people inside McKenzie Arena for today’s game against Central Florida.

“You may see my team out on the streets tomorrow handing out brochures and stuff trying to get people to come to the game,” Hatchell said Friday, and you won’t see that quote in next year’s NCAA media guide.

Hatchell’s quip reflects a serious issue in women’s basketball, one that will be evident in Chattanooga today and Monday: neutral sites vs. home sites. Equality vs. promotion. People in seats vs. people dressed as seats.

The scene inside McKenzie Arena will probably not look good on ESPN today. Ticket sales are down, and I think Chattanooga Sports Committee president Merrill Eckstein is considering rolling selection chair Jacki Silar’s house because none of the five teams from Tennessee in the field are here. But unlike at some other sites, no higher seed is playing on a lower seed’s home floor. It’s totally fair.

Quite the conundrum for women’s basketball. But Hatchell has an idea, a well-researched idea that would probably eliminate Chattanooga as an NCAA host forever.

Hatchell talked to Silar after women’s basketball released the current tournament format. She talked to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. She held meetings. She talked to ESPN representatives. And she does not like the current system.

“I said, ‘Look, I’m just telling you guys. This is not good. You go backwards here,’” Hatchell said.

She likes having 16 sites. She just wants the top 16 teams in the country to host and eliminate unfair matchups, like the potential game between second-seeded Auburn and seventh-seeded Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. She also wants people in the stands.

“If the top 16 hosted, you’ve earned that,” she said. “Second of all, the NCAA wants to play where there’s crowds, right? Those 16 teams, they’ve been winning all year. If you’re winning, you’re probably going to have fans and crowds. Third of all, I think your better teams will be advancing, which would make the quality of the tournament better.

“Fourth of all, you take the politics out of deciding who is going to host this? How do you determine it? Is it the money you put up on the bid? Is it who you know on the committee?”

It’s a good idea. Here’s my one problem, and this is based on conversations with friends who don’t follow women’s basketball: It’s hard for them to get immersed in the tournament because it’s too predictable. The same teams seem to advance. It’s true. If you ever want to feel good about your bracket, fill out a sheet for the women’s tournament.

If you play at the 16 best schools, the women’s game would be more predictable than ever. Why even play the first two rounds? The degree of difficulty for the smaller schools — and there’s some good ones out there who don’t get much respect because of their stature — rises tremendously.

“I wouldn’t be in agreement with that set-up,” UCF coach Joi Williams said.

I hope we see large crowds at McKenzie Arena today. I also know the economy stinks and there’s an absence of regional teams. The scene will be potentially embarrassing for TV today. The truth is this: Right now, there’s no good answer.

“I understand what you’re saying, and I read the paper this morning. I saw the ticket sales and I’m sure that Chattanooga was disappointed that there wasn’t a Tennessee team here,” Charlotte coach Karen Aston said. “That probably wasn’t expected during the bidding process. But we’re still at that point where this is where we have to be. We can’t be completely neutral yet.

“But I am glad we’re not in Rutgers.”

So am I, Karen. So am I.