SPOKANE, Wash. — No one here could escape the symbolism. March Madness logos were everywhere in this small town last week. They were on posters, stickers and towels as well as electronic billboards and in hotel lobbys. This and three other cities hosted the final 16 teams of the N.C.A.A. had seen the madness. women’s basketball tournament.
Last year’s tournament had no such branding. Held entirely in bubbled-off venues in the San Antonio area, with some games in San Marcos and Austin, the 2021 tournament looked like the N.C.A.A.’s evil stepchild. While the men’s tournament reveled in coveted TV spots and received lavish attention, Sedona Prince shared the women’s paltry accommodations on her TikTok and Twitter accounts. Women play with all the skill and intrigue seen in the men’s game, but the N.C.A.A. Prince and her rivals were spared all the pageantry.
Consider this women’s tournament a do over. In basketball terms, it’s a make-over.
Spokane’s action showed the potential of the N.C.A.A.’s first event. women’s tournament to feature 68 teams, like the men, and to use the March Madness branding. Smooth excellence was exemplified by Stanford, the defending champion. It dominated Maryland, 72-66, with its intensity and the all-American forward Haley Jones’ do-it-all skills. There was also grit, embodied by Ohio State, which might have pulled off a last-minute comeback win on Friday against Texas were it not for the Longhorns’ defense and the incandescence of the freshman point guard Rori Harmon.
This year, the women are expected to receive the same treatment as the men for their hard work, courage, and skill. It meant better food and swag bags for the women. “We got something new that I don’t think any of us have seen before: a hoodie pillow!” Maryland point guard Katie Benzan said last week.
That’s all fine and good. It’s also low-hanging fruit. The N.C.A.A. has been in existence for fifty years, fifty years after Title IX was passed, which established gender equity in educational programs that receive funding from the federal government. After an internal review, which criticized the organization for a male-centered, old-school approach, the N.C.A.A. was forced into making these changes.
The study, known as the Kaplan report, found that the N.C.A.A.’s all-out efforts to wring support and profit from its Division I men’s tournament had limited the growth and value of its women’s tournament. The N.C.A.A.’s inability to support women was a major problem. lost out on millions of dollars of TV revenue — while also angering and alienating fans.
The real test is yet to come. Simple changes will only get you so far. In the wake of the outrage sparked by Prince’s video, the 2021 women’s championship game, a thrilling win by Stanford over Arizona, outdrew the average N.B.A. Last season’s playoff game. This year, TV ratings rose drastically for women’s games. The N.C.A.A. women’s tournament has continued the upward trend in popularity. The N.C.A.A. has an opportunity to produce a cash cow that powers the women’s game forward when it renegotiates its next basketball broadcast contract in 2024. Will it?
We’re at a precipice. A “barge through the door” moment. Women’s college basketball seems poised to rise as never before.
Take a step back from this big tournament. Guess who is taking full advantage of their growing social media popularity and new college sports rules regarding endorsements?
“If you take football players out of the equation and look at how student-athletes are monetizing sponsors in this new world, women’s sports athletes are crushing the men,” said Blake Lawrence, chief executive of Opendorse, a tech company that has teamed with dozens of universities to help athletes navigate marketing opportunities.
As a whole, women’s basketball players receive the second-most endorsement money of any college athletes, according to Opendorse. They’re followed by — ahem, drum roll please — men’s basketball players.
And after them, the money list is filled with competitors from two more women’s sports: swimming and diving, and volleyball.
The N.C.A.A.A.’s biggest names are listed here. women’s tournament have been reaping massive benefits. Gatorade ads feature Paige Bueckers (a sophomore guard at Connecticut). Lawrence is confident that she is making over $1 million through her endorsements. A teammate of hers, the freshman Azzi Fudd, recently signed with Steph Curry’s management team.
After the two players starred in UConn’s 75-58 win over Indiana on Saturday, their 3-pointers showed up on highlight shows and social media, which is exactly why business brands consider them valuable.
“I would never have thought any of this would happen when I was recruited,” Stanford’s Jones said. She heralded the shift to a world few could imagine even last season, ticking off her corporate sponsors, which include Beats by Dre, NBA 2K, Coin Cloud and the Black-owned curly hair care line Uncle Funky’s Daughter. Jones noted that she was now represented by PRP, a talent agency in Las Vegas whose clients include Shaquille O’Neal and Jayson Tatum.
Welcome to the revolution.
“It’s pretty amazing to fly first class and be staying in the finest hotels,” Jones said, referring to her trips taken for corporate video shoots. “I’m used to flying coach and staying in the cheapest hotel possible.”
You might be wrong to think that players who are able to reap these benefits will continue to demand the same old inequalities and shabby treatment. A new generation of empowered female competitors, led primarily by basketball players, will continue demanding change far beyond the simple hosannas that offer better swag, tastier foods and all those March Madness signs.
Source: NY Times
