It is finally that time of year and March Madness has finally begun. But, for many years, the women’s basketball NCAA March Madness Tournament received less convention and views compared to the men’s tournament. Some fans have gone as far as creating their own bars that just showcase the women’s end of the March Madness tournaments.
However, this year it has seemed that the tides have changed, and the women’s basketball NCAA tournament is heavily on the rise. In the last five years, women’s sports coverage has tripled. Last season, the NCAA Tournament championship game between the LSU Tigers and the Iowa Hawkeyes set an attendance record with more than 350,000 fans, which only set the stage for an even more promising 2024 season of support.
This year, the women’s Final Four round will take place in Cleveland, and experts are already predicting that it will bring in more than the $25 million estimate.
“In many ways, right now, women’s college basketball is as popular if not more popular than men’s college basketball. I think Cleveland is really going to be the beneficiary of that being the case,” said David Gilbert, the CEO of Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, in an interview with ABC’s News 5 Cleveland.
There are powerhouse headlines of women’s basketball all over the country with players like Kamilla Cardoso (South Carolina), Caitlin Clark (Iowa), Paige Bueckers (UConn), Angel Reese (LSU), Lauren Betts (UCLA), Juju Watkins (USC), Cameron Brink (Stanford) and so many more are the spotlights of this league. These women keep breaking the news, setting new records, and most importantly, challenging these stereotypes that say women’s sports are less entertaining and relevant than men’s sports.
It was not until the 2021 season that the NCAA allowed for the women’s basketball tournament to use the name “March Madness” for their phrasing and branding. This name change came after a gender equity review that was conducted. Signage, branding and advertisement were pointed out between the men’s and women’s games and the change was initiated. The review found that $1.5 million more had been spent on the men’s Final Four round than the women’s competition, which also sparked a ton of change in the tournament’s execution.
That season alone, several women’s players posted on social media the big differences in resources given to the men’s and women’s teams during the tournament, this promoted the law firm’s review initially. One of the biggest and most viral examples of inequality was the difference in the men’s and women’s weight rooms. What the men were given is what someone would expect to see for some of the best college athletes competing in the biggest event in their sport, with multiple machines and racks to allow for the most intense training. On the other hand, the women got a single stack of dumbbells.
Since this, there has been a wide increase in women’s basketball sales and their popularity. In 2019, the women’s Big Ten Tournament had 26,813 fans in attendance and the final was aired on ESPN2. In the 2024 tournament, there were 109,000+ fans in attendance and it aired on CBS. The demand for this year’s women’s March Madness tournament is higher than ever before. The get-in cost for the women’s Final Four round in Cleveland this year is $474 per ticket, compared to $372 for the men’s which will be held in Phoenix. This year’s torrent has already sold more than last year’s however, the supply does influence the demand.
The women’s Final Four will take place at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with a 19,432 capacity while the men’s will be at Glendale State Farm Stadium that holds 63,400. These locations are chosen a year in advance, so these decisions do not reflect the rapid growth of women’s basketball since 2022 whatsoever. But the NCAA needs to keep up with the rise of women’s basketball for future Final Fours.
In better news, ESPN will now air the women’s tournament through 2032 after recording its most-watched women’s basketball regular season since 2009. The average viewership for the 81 games watched was 37% YoY as 272,000 average viewers tuned in across linear and digital channels. Matchups that aired exclusively on ESPN and ABC channels averaged 476,000 viewers.
The growth of women’s basketball is undeniable, and it is only going to continue increasing. This is just the beginning of March Madness and there is so much in store for the next month as all the 68 teams selected will battle for who is going to be the last team standing in Cleveland on Sunday, April 7 at the NCAA championship game.