College basketball has always been a captivating product for sports fans. The fans are passionate, there’s a nostalgic feel to it and the fan bases are electric. Some would argue that March Madness is the most exciting championship in American sports. And this year, viewership of women’s college basketball took leaps and bounds to unprecedented levels.
However, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) allocated zero dollars of revenue to distribute to women’s tournament teams while allocating $170 million to men’s tournament teams. The NCAA has awarded more than $340 million to men’s basketball programs for their participation in the tournament since 2021, according to a statement from the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. In the same year, an independent gender equity report found that the NCAA’s revenue distribution plan did not align with the NCAA’s stated principles of gender equity.
Despite these findings, the NCAA did not change the distribution. They are planning to shift to a unit-based system based on performance, in which women’s basketball programs would get a small percentage of the tournament revenue for each win. According to The Athletic, this unit pays out just $2 million over six years.
Collegiate Commissioners’ Association Group (CCA22), a group of NCAA Division I commissioners, proposed the current model for revenue distribution in men’s basketball. They proposed that each conference be given a unit for its automatic bid, and teams are rewarded for each game they win in the tournament. Most importantly, they would receive $190,000 per unit, compared to the $340,000 men’s unit. This would be a far more equitable model than what’s currently in place. However, with viewership of women’s basketball showing a sharp increase, that unit value will have to be adjusted accordingly.
The women’s national championship game between Iowa and South Carolina had an astounding 18.9 million views, making it the most viewed basketball game, professional or collegiate, on any ESPN platform, according to ESPN Press Room.
In addition, according to the NCAA, the 2023-24 season marked the first time that the women’s championship game surpassed the men’s championship game in viewership, with the men’s championship averaging 14.8 million viewers. During the regular season, the viewership was at its best since the 2008-09 season, with an average of 272,000 viewers. Each round of the women’s NCAA championship saw an increase in viewership compared to previous years, according to ESPN, including a 121% year-over-year increase in viewership.
The superstars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso and Paige Bueckers grabbed the attention of the sports world. They provided the stage for fans across the country who discovered and embraced the excitement of the women’s national championships. Despite a 285% increase in viewership since 2022, the NCAA has dragged its feet on creating a more equitable revenue distribution plan.
