Mo’ne Davis is ‘sad’ UConn coach’s call deemed an NCAA rule violation

Mo’ne Davis says there was no funny business going on when she received a phone call from Geno Auriemma last month.

The NCAA doesn’t see it that way, though, determining that the congratulatory call from the Connecticut women’s basketball coach to the 13-year-old Little League star was a secondary recruiting violation.

“I heard about that this morning, and it’s sad,” Davis said Friday at a WNBA luncheon. “There wasn’t anything about recruiting in the call, he was just congratulating me.”

The NCAA announced the violation Thursday after another school brought the phone call to the attention of the American Athletic Conference, though AAC spokeswoman Chevonne Mansfield says the complaint did not come from a league member.

It was unclear if there would be any sanctions against the Huskies.

Davis, who gained acclaim pitching in the Little League World Series for Philadelphia’s Taney Dragons, mentioned publicly during the series that she would one day love to play basketball at Connecticut. She has also been seen on more than one occasion wearing a UConn sweat shirt.

While Davis said she was saddened by the news of the violation, Auriemma sounded furious when discussing the situation on Thursday.

“So what does this mean? If a kid wins a swimming contest somewhere and is wearing a [UConn] sweat shirt and I call to congratulate her in seventh grade, is someone now going to say you are not allowed to do that?” Auriemma said to the Hartford Courant. “Well, why not? Isn’t that unbelievable?”

Twitter: @chewkiii