As the NCAA Women's Final Four begins tonight in
Philadelphia, NCAA officials are "seriously considering
major changes" in the tournament structure, including
"moving the dates of the national semifinals and final so
they don't conflict with the men's Final Four," according to
Amy Shipley of the WASHINGTON POST. NCAA officials say that
the "goal ... is determining how to better showcase a
tournament that has sold out eight consecutive Final Four
weekends and has drawn promising ratings on ESPN, but whose
popularity is still eclipsed -- and some believe diminished
-- by the men's tournament." Shipley, noting ESPN is in the
fifth year of a seven-year deal with the NCAA to televise
the women's tournament, adds that ESPN officials "want to
begin contract talks during this calendar year." ESPN
Senior VP/Programming Development Len DeLuca said that the
net "want[s] to add more games to their tournament package"
and "supports the plan for more spread-out regional
semifinal and final dates" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/31). In
Philadelphia, Phil Sheridan writes the problem with starting
the tournament earlier "is that the first rounds would be in
conflict with the men's conference tournament games. ...
Starting later means conflicts with baseball's opening week"
(PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 3/31). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir
notes that the women's tournament has produced a 0.8 rating
on ESPN, down from a 1.0 last year, and a 0.4 on ESPN2,
which is "the same as" '99 (N.Y. TIMES, 3/31). In Baltimore,
Milton Kent writes that ESPN's tournament coverage "has a
lot to do to make up for rather shoddy coverage throughout
the year. From nearly ignoring women's basketball during
the regular season ... ESPN has hardly served a growing
viewership well" (SUN, 3/31). Univ. of TN coach Pat
Summitt: "I think probably the biggest disappointment has
been the lack of coverage for the women's tournament. It
certainly hasn't been a positive in terms of the coverage
vs. the men" (BOSTON GLOBE, 3/31). ESPN's Final Four
coverage will be seen on the JumboTron in N.Y.'s Times
Square (THE DAILY).
NOTES: NCAA President Cedric Dempsey, on the Women's
tournament: "I don't think there's any question it will
continue to grow. We're putting a lot of money into it.
It's not one of the profit sports, yet, and neither is the
tournament." In Ft. Worth, Mac Engel: "No one is guessing
the timetable when the tournament will become self-
sufficient" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 3/31)....Philadelphia
Sports Congress Exec Dir Larry Needle estimated the Final
Four's economic impact on Philadelphia will be $25M
(PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 3/29)....Philadelphia Women's
Basketball 2000 co-Chair G. Fred DiBona said the
organization met its fund-raising goals of $1.4M
(PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 3/30)....First Union Center Senior
VP & GM John Page, on the Women's Final Four: "It's as hot a
ticket as I've seen in a while. This is like an NBA or NHL
playoff game in terms of demand, or an 'N Sync concert"
(PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 3/29).
