Tag: women’s march madness

Women’s basketball national championship was most watched basketball game at any level since 2019

The women’s national championship game on Sunday was the most-watched sporting event since 2019, excluding football and the Olympics.

Everyone watches women’s sports, and the Division I women’s national championship game on Sunday between Iowa and South Carolina put a big exclamation point on that statement: It was the most-watched basketball game — men’s or women’s, college or professional — since 2019.

The game averaged 18.7 million viewers and peaked at 24 million viewers. It was the most-watched sporting event since 2019, excluding football and the Olympics.

Supporters of women in sports have always known the potential existed for record-breaking viewership if only the product was given the platform on which to grow and thrive. Despite years of systemic inequity in coverage and investment, the women’s game is finally getting the recognition it deserves.

The NCAA “recently signed a new eight-year, $920 million TV deal with ESPN to cover its 40 other championships, including the women’s basketball tournament, which has seen a significant uptick in ratings and ticket sales. That new deal will pay the NCAA an average of $115 million per year starting next year, up from the current ESPN deal, which paid $45.2 million in 2023.” This was negotiated before the exponential increase in viewership during this year’s women’s March Madness Tournament.

The new media rights deal values women’s March Madness at $65 million annually, more than half of the $115 million yearly total ESPN will be paying. Thus, the women’s side of the game could become more lucrative for conferences and schools if the NCAA starts to pay school “units” for wins in the women’s tournament.

Around $200 million is up for grabs on the men’s side of March Madness this year because of a revenue distribution model set up to compensate conferences with teams in the NCAA Tournament. These payments are known as “units.” The conferences will receive payment for each win a team in their conference has in the tournament, but only for the men’s side of the game. Teams such as UConn, South Carolina and Iowa, which have dominated in recent years, will not receive any revenue distribution for their wins in women’s March Madness. South Carolina has won three national championships since 2017, but no revenue was distributed to the conference for the team’s stellar performances.

There are 132 units available this March Madness for the men’s side of the game in 2024, each valued at approximately $2 million.

However, with the new media rights deal, record-breaking viewership and elevated interest in the women’s side of the game, conferences could begin to see units distributed to them as early as 2025. This will put an impetus on schools to invest in their women’s basketball programs since there could be an extremely lucrative payout for them at the end of postseason play.

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Iowa-South Carolina sets viewership record that peaked at 24M viewers

They just keep raising the bar.

Women’s college basketball just keeps re-writing history in terms of people watching the games this postseason. Last year’s title game drew over 12 million viewers. A lot of fans tuned in to watch Kim Mulkey win yet another championship and the first with the LSU Tigers.

LSU was able to fend off the Iowa Hawkeyes and Caitlin Clark, who became a cultural phenomenon at a time when the women’s game was treated the same as the men’s. You could argue that Clark helped elevate the women’s game beyond the men’s over the last two tournaments. On Sunday afternoon, they did it again with another record-breaking game.

According to Front Office Sports, the game averaged 18.7 million viewers and peaked at 24 million.

The game will miss players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, Kamilla Cardoso, Rickea Jackson, and Aaliyah Edwards who helped make the past few seasons so electric. However, the future is also bright with the superstars to come. Let’s also not forget that UConn star Paige Bueckers has already announced that she will return for at least one more season.

Final coaches poll released after South Carolina survived March Madness

Final women’s coaches poll revealed with South Carolina and Iowa in the top 2 spots.

The NCAA women’s basketball has come to an end with several matchups setting the record as the most-watched game only to be outdone by the next one. Those games featured Iowa Hawkeyes’ star Caitlin Clark.

One of the most polarizing players was a vital reason why. After the national championship game ended, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley made sure to pay her respects to Clark.

“I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport,” the coach said. “She carried a heavy load for our sport and it just is not gonna stop here on the collegiate tour. But when she is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, she’s gonna lift that league up as well. So Caitlin Clark if you’re out there, you are one of the GOATs of our game. We appreciate you.”

After a historic season, we have the final coaches poll for women’s basketball.

Final USA TODAY Sports women’s coaches poll

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 South Carolina 38-0 750 (30) –
2 Iowa 34-5 720 –
3 UConn 33-6 678 +4
4 North Carolina State 31-7 645 +7
5 Texas 33-5 593 -1
6 USC 29-6 590 -3
7 LSU 31-6 572 -1
8 Stanford 30-6 518 -3
9 UCLA 27-7 513 -1
10 Oregon State 27-8 470 +5
11 Notre Dame 28-7 452 -1
12 Indiana 26-6 385 +2
13 Gonzaga 32-4 352 –
14 Ohio State 26-6 343 -5
15 Baylor 26-8 310 +3
16 Colorado 24-10 295 +1
17 Virginia Tech 25-8 262 -5
18 Kansas State 26-8 210 -2
19 Creighton 26-6 170 +1
20 Oklahoma 23-10 166 +1
21 Duke 22-12 149 –
22 Utah 23-11 121 –
23 Syracuse 24-8 115 –
24 UNLV 30-3 100 -5
25 West Virginia 25-8 75 +1

Schools Dropped Out

No. 24 Princeton; No. 25 Louisville

Others Receiving Votes

Iowa State 52; Louisville 29; Tennessee 27; Middle Tennessee 25; Nebraska 17; Princeton 15; Ole Miss 15; Fairfield 5; Richmond 3; Alabama 3; North Carolina 2; South Dakota State 1; Kansas 1; Jackson State 1

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International players can’t fully monetize NIL during March Madness

As it stands, international students are only able to monetize their NIL in a passive way or risk losing their F-1 student visas.

Women’s Division I basketball boasts 800 international players on 2024 rosters: 16% of competitors in this year’s NCAA Tournament hail from outside the United States. On the 68 teams in March Madness, 42 countries, excluding the U.S., will be represented.

Australia has the most players in the tournament this year: 15% of the talent. However, overall, in DI women’s basketball, Spain holds the top spot for most players on rosters, followed by Canada, Australia, Sweden and France. There are also a handful of Latinas participating in March Madness this year, from Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo to South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso.

While representation of international players is strong this year, these players will not be able to fully monetize their name, image and likeness licensing due to current immigration laws.

This issue was brought to light when UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards, a Canadian, signed an NIL deal with adidas Canada. Edwards was asked about the deal in a press conference in the U.S. but declined to comment for fear that promoting the deal could run her afoul of her student visa. As it stands, international students are only able to monetize their NIL in a passive way or risk losing their F-1 student visas.

For example, if a student was receiving passive income from jersey sales and not promoting the deal, then most likely, the athlete would not run afoul of the law. A recent example is the EA Sports NCAA Football video game deal, where football players are paid a $600 stipend for appearing in the video game but do not have labor obligations to EA. However, the area is a bit gray, and international students would be wise to seek competent legal counsel who have a grasp on the ever-evolving landscape of NIL in college athletics.

“In the absence of legislation, as we have previously argued, the Department of Homeland Security can and should publish clarifying policies on permissible NIL activities for F-1 student-athletes,” immigration attorneys Gabriel Castro and Tiffany Derentz from BAL Sports & Entertainment and Government Strategies teams shared on their website. “The Student and Exchange Visitor Program and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have both indicated they will provide guidance, but so far, nothing has materialized.”

BAL teams set up a series of virtual roundtables with NCAA Division I schools to learn more about their experiences and solicit their insights. The roundtable found five common themes:

  • Schools want guidance

    Across the board, schools said they want clear, precise guidance defining what NIL activities are permissible for F-1 foreign student-athletes.

  • Students are vulnerable

    Absent guidance, athletic departments are under tremendous pressure to find workarounds or loopholes to attract and retain foreign student-athletes. This exposes students to potential visa violations, which could permanently affect their ability to travel to the U.S. to work, study, or live.

  • The playing field is uneven

    The lack of immigration policy has led many schools to take a conservative approach, excluding foreign student-athletes from NIL activities, including team-wide NIL deals.

  • NIL deals benefit the economy

    Permitting foreign student-athletes to engage in NIL activities supports economic growth in the U.S.

  • Foreign athletes are being denied the full student-athlete experience

    Participating in NIL activities plays an important part in the student-athlete experience and the overall development of the student in their educational and cultural experience in the U.S.

As March Madness progresses with each round, be on the lookout for international athletes and which NIL deals they participate in and must opt out of due to immigration law.

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Columbia has a team in March Madness for first time since 1968

The Columbia women’s basketball team earned their first tournament appearance with an at-large play-in bid against Vanderbilt.

It is March Madness season, and the women’s 2024 Division I bracket was revealed on Sunday. South Carolina, Iowa, Texas and USC earned No. 1 seeds, while Notre Dame, UCLA, Stanford and Ohio State secured No. 2 seeds.

South Carolina’s first game will be against the No. 16 seed, either Sacred Heart or Presbyterian, at 2 p.m. ET (ESPN) Friday. South Carolina is undefeated for the second year in a row, which garnered them the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, sitting squarely atop the Albany Region 1.

Iowa will take on the No. 16 seed, either Holy Cross or UT Martin, on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET (ABC). It could be argued that Albany Region 2 is the most difficult in the tournament. The region boasts No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Kansas State and No. 6 Louisville. Additionally, an LSU-Iowa matchup would draw quite a crowd, considering the 2023 national championship matchup between the two teams.

USC and JuJu Watkins are matched up against No. 16 A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). Portland 3 Region also includes No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 UConn. This region could get spicy quickly with some big names like UConn’s Paige Bueckers back in action.

The final region is Portland 4 Region, with Texas in the No. 1 spot due to its Big 12 Conference tournament championship win. With that win, Stanford dropped to No. 2 seed but will come into the tourney with a vengeance. And everyone’s Cinderella this year is bound to be Columbia University. The women earned an at-large play-in bid against Vanderbilt. It is the first time in school history the women’s team will compete in the NCAA Tournament and the first time since 1968 that Columbia has a team in the tourney. The men’s team made their last appearance that year.

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Top-4 highest-scoring individual performances in women’s March Madness history

The March Madness moniker only started being used in conjunction with the women’s side of the tournament in 2022.

The WNBA playoffs have started and there are 42 Division I schools and 12 countries represented. That means the college basketball season is only a couple of months away, which means March Madness is fast approaching.

The March Madness moniker only started being used in conjunction with the women’s side of the tournament in 2022. Even though it has been more than 40 years since the first women’s NCAA DI tournament in 1982, a win is a win.

The women’s side of the game has had many record-setting moments during those 40+ years. The tournament also expanded from 32 teams in 1982 to 64 teams in 1994. Additional post-season expansion was announced earlier this year when the NCAA created the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament. The postseason tournament will consist of 32 teams and will begin in 2024. The tournament is owned and funded by the NCAA.

Now, let’s take a look at the top-4, highest-scoring individual performances in women’s March Madness history:

More college players declare for the 2023 WNBA draft

With Aliyah Boston, Diamond Miller and Alexis Morris officially declaring, this year’s draft will be one for the record books.

The 2023 WNBA draft will be held on Monday, April 10. It will be televised on ESPN from 7-9 p.m. EDT and be available on the ESPN app. This year’s draft class is deep and it just got deeper.

With South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, Maryland’s Diamond Miller and LSU’s Alexis Morris declaring for the draft, it will be one for the record books. You can follow along with the draft board and in-depth features on players on the WNBA’s draft central page.

The full lineup of picks for the first round is below:

Pick Team
1 Indiana Fever
2 Minnesota Lynx
3 Atlanta Dream
4 Washington Mystics (via Los Angeles)
5 Chicago Sky (via Phoenix)
6 New York Liberty
7 Indiana Fever (via Dallas)
8 Atlanta Dream (via Washington)
9 Seattle Storm
10 Connecticut Sun
11 Dallas Wings (via Chicago)
12 Minnesota Lynx (via Las Vegas)

 

The WNBA also shared a quiz for fans to see, based on a list of answers, what team the fan would be drafted to in 2023.

While some are entering the WNBA draft, others are deciding to use their remaining eligibility.

Professional players are urging their college counterparts to stay in school as long as they can. This is likely due to the facts players can monetize their brands in college and the limited number of roster spots available to play professionally in North America.

The ratings from the women’s March Madness have come in and from sold-out crowds to record-breaking viewership, the likes some men’s professional teams and leagues haven’t seen, the future of women’s basketball is bright.

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‘The Bird & Taurasi Show’ back by popular demand for 2nd season

The show hosted by Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi will air for the Final Four and Championship game on ESPN2 and simulcast on ESPN+.

The 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship is airing exclusively across ESPN platforms from March 15-April 2, and the network brought back two WNBA superstars and University of Connecticut legends to host the action.

“Back by popular demand, AT&T returns as the presenting and halftime sponsor of “The Bird & Taurasi Show” second screen viewing option of the Final Four and championship game featuring women’s basketball legends Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi – providing fans with a one-of-a-kind perspective of the final matchups, all airing on ESPN2 and simulcast on ESPN+,” ESPN announced on Tuesday.

This will be the second time the duo brings their unique perspective and entertainment to the screen for the tournament with their own show.

According to ESPN: “South Carolina’s wire-to-wire victory in the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship scored 4.85 million viewers Sunday night to become the most-watched women’s title game since 2004, and the fourth largest audience to watch a women’s championship game since ESPN began exclusively airing the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament in 1996.”

This year’s tournament has “attracted 15 broadcast sponsors and nearly 100 advertisers across various categories.” With more investment and more extensive broadcasting coverage, this year’s tournament is poised to again break records.

Even Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry joined “The Bird & Taurasi Show” last year.

Who knows what the duo has in store for the tournament this year, but what we do know is it will be entertaining.

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Everything you need to know about the 2023 March Madness Women’s NCAA tournament

College Sports Wire is getting you ready for the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

Selection Sunday has ended, the games are scheduled, and it is almost time for March Madness. The stage is set for the 2023 March Madness Women’s NCAA tournament. While the South Carolina Gamecocks look to go back-to-back some strong contenders are peaking at just the right time.

You can download your own bracket here.

The First Four games are Wednesday and Thursday, March 15-16.

The first round is Friday and Saturday, March 17-18.

The second round is Sunday and Monday, March 19-20. Then the field narrows down to 16 teams taking place Friday and Saturday, March 24-25. The field narrows down further and the Elite 8 takes the stage Sunday and Monday, March 26-27. Starting this year, the Sweet 16 & Elite Eight are held at two sites per year, with eight teams competing at each site.

Round City Venue Dates Host
Regional Greenville, S.C. Bon Secours Wellness Arena March 24 – 27 Southern Conference and Furman
Regional Greenville, S.C. Climate Pledge Arena March 24 – 27 Seattle and Seattle Sports Commission
Final Four Dallas American Airlines Center March 31 and April 2 Big 12 Conference and the Dallas Sports Commission

The Final Four is at 7 and 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday, March 31 on ESPN at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Then the national championship game is at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 2 on ABC in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center.

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Oregon’s Sedona Prince shared her plans for the future of her career

With the way the seasons are structured, there is no conflict for athletes to play in the WNBA and in Athletes Unlimited.

If you follow along with March Madness, you have heard the name Sedona Prince. She shined a spotlight on the NCAA’s inequitable treatment of the women’s and men’s basketball tournaments.

@sedonerrr

it’s 2021 and we are still fighting for bits and pieces of equality. #ncaa #inequality #fightforchange

♬ original sound – Sedona Prince

This brought a national spotlight to not only the women’s March Madness, but to Prince herself. She made headlines again when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against the NCAA in Alston v. NCAA, which ushered in the era of college athletes being able to monetize their own name, image and likeness.

Prince told Boardroom in 2022 that “with the help of her representation at Wasserman, she’s made north of $500,000 across 18 business and partnership deals, with no plans of slowing down” in one year after the Alston decision. She has deals with notable brands Crocs, Uninterrupted, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Champs to name a few.

With her ability to make money in college through her platform, she opted to stay at Oregon for the 2022-2023 season. However, a season-ending elbow injury cut the season short.

She graduated from the university in May 2022 and entered her name into the 2023 WNBA draft that takes place on April 10. It will be exclusively televised on ESPN from 7-9 p.m. EDT and available on the ESPN app.

However, in a short interview on March 11, Prince also revealed she wants to play in Athletes Unlimited basketball Season 3. With the way the seasons are structured, there is no conflict for athletes to play in the WNBA and in Athletes Unlimited.

While Prince’s college career was cut short, we could see her in the upcoming WNBA season and the upcoming Athletes Unlimited season. More Prince is good for all of us.

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