Women’s basketball teams will be paid for playing in the NCAA’s post-season ‘March Madness’ tournament following a vote at the NCAA convention in Nashville on Wednesday (15 January).
The proposal to pay the North American collegiate tournament teams was divided into two votes. The first asked if payments should begin with the first NCAA Tournament, which received 291 “yes” votes and one “no”. On whether a women’s fund should be established, all 292 members unanimously voted “yes”.
The vote marks the final step towards a formal pay structure similar to that used by the men’s college basketball tournament. For years, men’s teams have been paid “performance units”, which represent revenue, for every game they have played in the NCAA tournament.
From 2025, performance units will now be given to women’s teams with the fund starting at $15 million, which is 26 per cent of the women’s basketball media revenue deal. By 2028, that sum will grow to $25 million, or 41 per cent of revenue.
In practice, a women’s team that reaches the Final Four this year could bring its conference up to $1.26 million over the next three years.
Women’s college basketball in the US, and women’s hoops more generally, has seen a surge in popularity mostly down to the string of stars the NCAA Tournament has showcased, including Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink.
Last year’s national championship game, featuring Clark, drew in a television audience of 18.7 million and became the most-watched women’s college basketball matchup ever. It also outdid the men’s championship final, which drew in 14.82 million viewers.
The 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament 2025 will begin on 19 March with the ‘First Four’.
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