Geno Auriemma waved around a branded water bottle to make fun of the NCAA’s rules about cups

Here is a master class in trolling:

That tweet above pretty much sums up the issue at play.

The NCAA has rules about players, coaches, and media members using branded drink containers in certain spaces at its basketball championships.

Here’s the rule that applies to at least the men’s tournament (and is probably similar to the one for the women’s event), as the NCAA provided it to SB Nation:

The NCAA will provide the necessary equipment/product for all media and team areas. POW­ERADE (Coca-Cola) branded equipment/product must be available for all practice sessions and games. Participating teams must use the NCAA-issued coolers, cups and water (squeeze) bottles while in the facility on practice and game days.

POWERADE and DASANI bottled product may be used courtside by media, staff, and coaches. Student-athletes are to use the cups and water (squeeze) bottles provided. No other cups, cans, coolers or water (squeeze) bottles or bottled products, may be used in locker rooms, courtside, or in the media areas. Generic napkins are to be used in the media refreshment and buffet areas. These items may not bear any commercial marks. All other cups should not have any commercial advertising.

Powerade and Dasani are both Coca-Cola products. Coca-Cola pays the NCAA a significant sum of money to have the branded drinks of the NCAA tournament. So the NCAA cracks down on anyone who might try to use another brand in public view at any tournament site, signs like these are all over the place to warn would-be users of other drink containers:

Geno Auriemma had an NCAA cup next to him at the podium and later drank from it:

It appears Auriemma was holding up a Dasani bottle at his press conference, so he’s not really running afoul of the NCAA in any serious way. But he makes a point about how silly this all is.