The 2012–13 NCAA Division I women's basketball season began in November and ended with the Final Four at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, from April 7–9.
Season headlines October 30 – The AP preseason All-American team was named. Three players received all 40 possible votes from the media panel—Baylor center Brittney Griner, Notre Dame point guard Skylar Diggins, and Delaware's multi-positional Elena Delle Donne. They were joined by Stanford power forward Chiney Ogwumike (23 votes), Baylor point guard Odyssey Sims (19), and Maryland power forward Alyssa Thomas (19). Sims and Thomas tied in the voting, creating a sixth spot on the team. December 15 – The seven Big East Conference schools that do not sponsor FBS football (DePaul, Georgetown, St. John's, Providence, Villanova, Seton Hall and Marquette, collectively called the "Catholic 7") announced that they would break from the Big East and pursue other conference affiliation. The move leaves Connecticut as the only original Big East member set to remain in the conference.It’s Official: An Exodus Will Redraw the Big East, accessed December 16, 2012 February 28 – ESPN reports that the "Catholic 7" will launch their new conference in July 2013, two years ahead of schedule, and will purchase the rights to the "Big East" name from the remaining conference schools. Two Atlantic 10 Conference members, Butler (which had only joined the A10 in July 2012) and Xavier, will reportedly join the new Big East, with Missouri Valley Conference member Creighton also a possibility. March 8 – The Big East split is officially announced. As previously reported, the "Catholic 7" will leave on June 30 with the Big East name. As of the announcement, the "Catholic 7" were the only members of the new Big East, but Butler, Xavier, and Creighton were added March 20.
Milestones and records January 6, 2014 - Missouri's Morgan Eye hit 11 three-pointers in a game against Auburn, tied for third most three-pointers in a single game (in NCAA history). February 22, 2013 - Saint Peters' Bridget Whitfield hit eight of eight three-point attempts, tied for third most (in NCAA history) without a miss. Baylor's Brittney Griner scored 3,283 points in her career, the third highest career total in NCAA history. Baylor's Brittney Griner recorded more than 2,000 points and 500 rebounds, the only player in NCAA history to reach that milestone.
Coaching wins milestones 900 victories - Sylvia Hatchell - University of North Carolina. February 7 versus Boston College. 900 victories - Andy Landers - University of Georgia. February 24 versus Mississippi. 900 victories - C. Vivian Stringer - Rutgers University. February 26 versus South Florida. 700 victories - Muffet McGraw - University of Notre Dame. February 5 versus Villanova. 600 victories - Lisa Bluder - University of Iowa. January 20 versus Purdue.
Conference membership changes
The 2012–13 season saw the second wave of membership changes resulting from a major realignment of NCAA Division I conferences. The cycle began in 2010 with the Big Ten and the then-Pac-10 publicly announcing their intentions to expand. The fallout from these conferences' moves later affected a majority of D-I conferences.
In addition, two schools are moving from Division II starting this season. These schools will be ineligible for NCAA-sponsored postseason play until completing their D-I transitions in 2016. Finally, one school that had announced a transition to Division II, New Orleans, announced that it would halt its transition and remain in Division I.
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Belmont Bruins A-Sun OVC Butler Bulldogs Horizon League Atlantic 10 Denver Pioneers Sun Belt WAC Fresno State Bulldogs WAC Mountain West Hawaii Rainbow Wahine WAC Big West Longwood Lancers Independent Big South Missouri Tigers Big 12 SEC Nebraska–Omaha Mavericks MIAA (D-II) Summit League Nevada Wolf Pack WAC Mountain West New Orleans Privateers Division II independent Division I independent North Dakota Fighting Sioux Great West Big Sky Northern Kentucky Norse GLVC (D-II) A-Sun Oral Roberts Golden Eagles Summit League Southland Seattle Redhawks Independent WAC Southern Utah Thunderbirds Summit League Big Sky TCU Lady Frogs Mountain West Big 12 Texas A&M Aggies Big 12 SEC Texas State Bobcats Southland WAC UT Arlington Mavericks Southland WAC UTSA Roadrunners Southland WAC VCU Rams CAA Atlantic 10 West Virginia Mountaineers Big East Big 12
New arenas Coastal Carolina left behind one of the smallest venues in Division I basketball, Kimbel Arena (seating little over 1,000). The Chanticleers remained on campus at the new HTC Center. Troy left its on-campus home, the original Trojan Arena, for a new on-campus venue also named Trojan Arena.
Major rule changes There is now unlimited contact, including text messaging, allowed between college coaches and a prospective player in high school and junior college recruiting.NCAA changes July recruiting period, accessed October 12, 2012
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 25 from the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls. 'Associated Press'RankingTeam1 Baylor (40)2 Connecticut3 Duke4 Stanford5 Maryland6 Kentucky7 Notre Dame8 Penn State9 Louisville10 Georgia11 Delaware12 Oklahoma13 California14 St. John's15 Texas A&M16 Vanderbilt17 West Virginia18 Nebraska19 Ohio State20 Tennessee21 Purdue22 Georgia Tech23 Oklahoma State24 Miami (FL)25 DePaul ESPN/USA Today CoachesRankingTeam1 Baylor (31)2 Connecticut3 Duke4 Stanford5 Maryland6 Notre Dame7 Kentucky8 Penn State9 Louisville10 Delaware11 Georgia12 Texas A&M13 St. John's14 Oklahoma15 California16 Tennessee17 Vanderbilt18 Purdue19 Nebraska20 Georgia Tech21 Ohio State22 West Virginia23 Miami (FL)24 Oklahoma State25 Green BayтKansasт
Regular season A number of early-season tournaments marked the beginning of the college basketball season.
Early-season tournaments
Conference winners and tournaments Thirty athletic conferences each end their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that win their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament. The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The Ivy League does not have a conference tournament, instead giving their automatic invitation to their regular season champion. As of 2013, the Great West Conference does not have an automatic bid to the NCAA Men or Women's College Tournament.
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference Coach of the YearConference tournamentTournament venue (city)Tournament winner America East Conference AlbanyEbone Henry, Chantell Alford Katie Abrahamson-Henderson 2013 America East women's basketball tournament SEFCU Arena (Guilderland, New York) Final at campus site Albany Atlantic 10 Conference Dayton Jennifer Hailey, Charlotte Jim Jabir, Dayton 2013 Atlantic 10 women's basketball tournament Hagan Arena(Philadelphia)Final at Barclays Center(Brooklyn, New York) Saint Joseph's Atlantic Coast Conference Duke Alyssa Thomas, Maryland (media)Alyssa Thomas, Maryland & Chelsea Gray, Duke (coaches) Joanne P. McCallie, Duke (media)Brenda Frese, Maryland (coaches) 2013 ACC women's basketball tournament Greensboro Coliseum(Greensboro, North Carolina) Duke Atlantic Sun Conference Florida Gulf Coast Sarah Hansen, Florida Gulf Coast Karl Smesko, Florida Gulf Coast 2013 Atlantic Sun women's basketball tournament University Center(Macon, Georgia) Stetson Big 12 Conference Baylor Brittney Griner, Baylor Kim Mulkey, Baylor 2013 Big 12 women's basketball tournament American Airlines Center(Dallas) Baylor Big East Conference Notre Dame Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame 2013 Big East women's basketball tournament XL Center(Hartford, Connecticut) Notre Dame Big Sky Conference Montana Katie Baker, Montana Robin Selvig, Montana 2013 Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament Dahlberg Arena(Missoula, Montana) Montana Big South Conference Liberty Dequesha McClanahan, WinthropRonny Fisher, Presbyterian 2013 Big South Conference women's basketball tournament HTC Center(Conway, South Carolina) Liberty Big Ten Conference Penn StateMaggie Lucas, Penn StateCoquese Washington, Penn State (media) Connie Yori, Nebraska