The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) have announced that women’s basketball teams will be paid for playing games in the NCAA tournament.
The announcement happened at an NCAA convention in Nashville, Tennessee last week. While the initial proposal was created by the Division I Board of Governors last year, it needed the approval of other NCAA members before it could take effect.
The proposal came off the heels of the most successful women’s basketball tournament ever, with the National Championship Game between Iowa and South Carolina drawing an audience of 18.7 million viewers. This was the highest for a basketball broadcast in five years and had three million more viewers than the men’s National Championship Game between UConn and Purdue. The women’s tournament also set an all-time attendance record with 436,055 fans.
The compensation will come through performance units, which will vary by conference depending on how far their programs advance in the tournament. A Final Four appearance by a school could earn their conference $1.26 million over the next three years.
This proposal helps close the gap between men’s and women’s college basketball. Men’s teams receive 24% of the media rights deal, which is $8.8 billion over eight years. Women’s basketball is currently valued at $65 million per tournament in the NCAA’s new media rights deal with ESPN. The women’s programs will receive 26% of the deal, slightly higher than the men’s programs.
With women’s college basketball teams receiving fairer compensation, the future for the sport is bright. Several star players such as UConn guard Paige Bueckers and University of Southern California (USC) guard JuJu Watkins will headline an NCAA tournament that is expected to live up to the excitement of last year’s.
The women’s NCAA tournament will begin play on Mar. 19 in Tampa, Florida and will conclude on Apr. 6.
Women’s college basketball teams to be paid for playing NCAA Tournament games – CBS News
NCAA approves paying women’s basketball tourney teams – ESPN
A year for women: Pioneers, record breakers and champions – NCAA.org
