Story at a glance
- The NCAA has made some changes to the women’s basketball tournament ahead of March Madness.
- After a report outlining inequities between the treatment of the men and women’s team, the NCAA has allegedly spent millions of dollars on women’s teams.
- Some of the changes include referring to the women’s tournament as March Madness in NCAA branding and paying game officials the same amount in both tournaments.
The NCAA has made some changes to the women’s basketball tournament ahead of March Madness after facing criticism for inequities when compared to the men’s.
The NCAA has said it worked to make both the men’s and women’s tournaments more equitable this year, telling The Associated Press (AP) it has spent “millions more” on the women’s games.
“We’ve taken every budget line for men’s and women’s basketball championships and compared and contrasted them. Where there have been discrepancies, we’ve had significant discussions about the equity stand point,” Dan Gavitt, the NCAA senior vice president of basketball told the AP. “ In many cases, they’ve been adjusted to the tune of millions of dollars.”
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Among the changes, the NCAA is referring to the women’s tournament as March Madness in its branding and has expanded the number of participating teams from 64 to 68, according to Sports Illustrated.
In addition, officials at both tournaments will be paid equally and fan events for the Women’s Final Four have been changed to more closely resemble those at the men’s tournament, according to the AP.
Female teams will also receive gifts that are identical to their male counterparts. In prior years, the gifts were comparable in value but presented and packaged differently.
NCAA plans on making more changes next year, the outlet reported, with the goal of moving the women’s selection show back to Monday night after shifting it to Sunday this year.
The women’s Final Four set will play in Minneapolis this year, and the men’s in New Orleans.
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