The NCAA announced Wednesday that the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will begin using “March Madness” branding and marketing starting with the 2022 tournament, which was previously only utilized for the men’s tournament.
They also announced new budgeting efforts toward “making the two championships more financially equitable.”
“Women’s basketball has grown tremendously over the past several years, and we remain focused on our priority of enhancing and growing the game,” Lynn Holzman, the NCAA’s vice president of women’s basketball, said in a statement. “The brand recognition that March Madness carries will broaden marketing opportunities as we continue that work to elevate the women’s basketball championship.”
Previously, only the men’s tournament used the “March Madness” branding, which had become synonymous with the high-profile college basketball championship. It’s not clear how “March Madness” will be incorporated into the women’s tournament, but it’s possible they could begin using the phrase and logo on the court similar to the men’s tournament. The tournament last season simply had “Women’s Basketball” on its court.
Use of “March Madness” was one of the recommendations stemming from an external review of gender equity issues of the tournaments. The report released in August was sparked by outrage at the disparities between amenities at both tournaments, notably the skimpy weight room available for the women’s teams to use compared with the men’s teams.
The Division I Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee unanimously supported adopting the phrase.
“This is just the start when it comes to improving gender equity in the way the two Division I basketball championships are conducted,” Lisa Campos, director of athletics for the University of Texas at San Antonio and chair of the committee said. “Adding the March Madness trademark to the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will enhance the development and public perception of the sport, and the oversight committee looks forward to its work to address other recommendations through the governance structure to continue those efforts.”
Another potential change that could come down the road would be to expand the tournament field from 64 teams to 68 teams to equal the men’s bracket.
The NCAA also announced Wednesday that the national office will start from scratch in determining budgeting expenses for the two tournament staffs instead of adjusting the budgets from the previous fiscal year.
The NCAA announced their national office has “implemented a zero-based budgeting method” for both championships, adding that “instead of adjusting budgets from the previous fiscal year, the men’s and women’s basketball championships staffs are starting from scratch in determining budgeting expenses, which must be justified and approved for each new period.”
“The move is designed to show where justifiable differences in the allocation of championship financial resources exist and are appropriate, with an eye toward increasing opportunities for planning collaboration and cross-promotion, as well as making the two championships more financially equitable,” the NCAA wrote.
The 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will culminate with the Women’s Final Four on April 1-3 in Minneapolis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
