Women's college basketball schools “still get zero dollars" for their teams participating and advancing in the NCAA Tournament, unlike on the men’s sideGetty Images
The NCAA’s new television deal with ESPN should allow for payout units to “come to women’s basketball in the near future, possibly by next year’s” NCAA Women's Tournament, according to Jesse Dougherty of the WASHINGTON POST. Despite “a ton of progress” in women’s college basketball, schools “still get zero dollars" for their teams participating and advancing in the tournament, unlike on the men’s side. The NCAA’s finance committee is workshopping models for a women’s tournament units program and “some key questions, among others, are when it would start, what the value of each unit would be and how and when they would be paid.” Dougherty noted the NCAA “could decide to start payments in the same year that units are earned,” rather than waiting a year as on the men’s side. Later this month, the finance committee is “expected to meet” with the women’s basketball oversight committee and the Division I women’s basketball committee, which runs the tournament. NCAA officials are also crowdsourcing with conference commissioners because conferences “would control the payouts.” It will be a “frequent topic of conversation” at the Final Four in Cleveland that would “put the finance committee on track to finalize a proposal by August.” Dougherty noted it would “require a full Division I membership vote” at the NCAA’s conference in January. And if the vote passes, units “could be offered for participation in the 2025 tournament.” The takeaway is that schools have a “clear financial incentive” for their teams to excel in the men’s tournament, and adding that to the women’s side “should lead to even more investment in a booming sport” (WASHINGTON POST, 4/3).
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