The ‘when’ of the women's Final Four is more important than the ‘where’

For months, debate has ensued over where the women’s Final Four should be played in the future, and whether it should be staged in the same city and on the same weekend as the men’s event. 

The most important of those questions is when, not where. Recent industry conversations, especially amid a women’s tournament that experienced strong TV ratings and attendance, has shifted to whether staging the women’s Final Four on an alternate weekend would maximize exposure, affording it an unobstructed national stage.

The men’s and women’s basketball committees have and will continue to give the alternate weekend concept “serious consideration,” a source familiar with the discussions told On3. Asked to characterize the chances that the model is attempted, at least for a year, later this decade, the source called it a “decent likelihood.”

The earliest that could occur is 2027. Final Four sites through 2031 are expected to be announced in November. For those yet-to-be-announced sites, presumably there’d be some flexibility with dates. The events could be played in the same cities or different locales. The key point is whether the men’s would precede the women’s, or vice versa.

In February, the NCAA said the two basketball committees voted unanimously (24-0) to keep the Final Fours from being staged in the same city, on the same weekend. That defied a recommendation from a law firm’s independent gender equity report – commissioned by the NCAA – that concluded that “holding a joint Division I men’s and women’s basketball Final Four in one location over a single weekend would be the best and likely the only way to reduce the existing gender inequities” in the sport.

Proponents of the alternate weekend concept said playing the Final Fours on different weekends could maximize corporate sponsorship support and activation as well as allow fans and key stakeholders to attend both events.

“I really think this ’putting it all on one weekend’ is very tough,” Tom McMillen, the CEO of LEAD1 Association, which advocates on policy issues facing the 130 FBS athletic directors, told On3. In a small-scale example that illustrates the broader challenge, McMillen said he received an invitation to the NCAA’s men’s and women’s Final Four brunch this year. Problem is, the events were on the same weekend and the host cities – Minneapolis for the women, New Orleans for the men – separated by some 1,000 miles.

“It makes it difficult for those of us who want to be supportive of both to do so,” McMillen added. “Putting it on the same weekend just clogs it up. They should separate [the dates]. Putting it so close together [timing-wise] really makes people make a choice. And I think that is not necessarily the best thing for women’s sports.”

Both ideas can be tried

The men’s basketball committee gave deference to the views of the women’s committee on the same city/same weekend idea. And in a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association survey, 55 percent said they were in favor of that concept. In fact, UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma said recently, “Every coach that I’ve talked to that’s participated in the Final Four – and I’ve talked to quite a few after the report came out – not one said we should have both Final Fours at the same place.”

There are valid and varied arguments against the concept, including scheduling logistics and hotel availability. There are concerns about the women’s event being overshadowed and the optics of competing in a smaller venue versus the men in their football-sized dome. 

There’s just too much risk, some say, because the women’s event is thriving in attendance and ratings. Plus, some are hesitant to potentially disrupt – or jeopardize in some way – the continued progress the women’s tournament has achieved over the past year on the gender equity front, though there is more work remaining there. 

It was a great sign that the NCAA reportedly distributed nearly 1,000 credentials to the women’s Final Four, about 200 more than for any previous women’s Final Four. But how many more media members would have attended had the event not been competing against the men’s event last weekend?

Dan Butterly, the Big West Conference commissioner and member of the men’s basketball oversight committee, said before the Final Four that he was supportive of the same city/same weekend model. He referenced several conferences that successfully stage their conference tournaments in the same city. And obviously tennis Grand Slam events enjoy great success with combined events. 

“Why not have a major celebration of college basketball, rather than two championships competing against each other?” he told On3, adding, “There’s some who would like to see it split weekends and some who would like to stay status quo.”

Horizon League commissioner Julie Roe Lach, a member of the women’s basketball oversight committee, said before March Madness that she fully supported trying the same city/same weekend approach but also called the alternate weekend concept “compelling.”

“I am always up for a good pilot,” she told On3 regarding both models. “Either bring them together, or consider different weekends. Everything is changing [in college sports]. So why not try this and figure out what we learn from it? And then maybe take it forward into the future. But I think it’s absolutely right to try it.”