A huge disparity between men’s and women’s weight rooms has focused attention on women’s weight rooms. NCAA Tournament for all the wrong reasons in 2022, starting a conversation about fairness that has continued today. Then this season brought mismatched 3-point lines to Portland, Oregon.
Poorly drawn lines were part of a series of mistakes that were the backdrop to what would have otherwise been a great moment for women’s basketball.
The problems have little to do with the players on the field or the fans in the stands. There were record crowds and historical television audiencesthe headline-making moments of Caitlin Clark and JuJu Watkins, and the epic Elite Eight duels between Iowa and LSU, and UConn and USC.
Just two seasons ago, the number of tournament teams grew to 68 teams, as did the men’s team, and the women were finally able to use the March Madness and Final Four brands that were previously exclusive to the men.
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Exponential growth means mistakes are possible along the way, UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.
“There’s such a lot of attention to sports right now that things like this are exploding. Maybe this happened 10 years ago and no one paid attention. Maybe no one was even smart enough to notice or pay attention to it,” Auriemma said of the legal issue. “It certainly doesn’t take away from the performance of these kids and what they did. Sometimes things grow so fast and explode so quickly that you rush and miss a step.”
The missteps began with Utah’s experience in Idaho, where the team was housed in a hotel about 35 miles from the Utes’ first-round games in Spokane, Washington. In Coeur d’Alene, the team said they were the target of racist insults that were shouted at players as they walked to and from a team dinner.
The players were eventually moved closer to Spokane, but there were questions about logistics, such as why the men’s and women’s games were scheduled in a smaller city like Spokane with fewer hotels meeting NCAA lodging standards – while there was also a women’s volleyball tournament. tournament for 800 teams in the city.
Part of the answer lies in the way the women’s tournament is organized. The first two rounds are hosted by highly ranked schools and sites are announced the week before the games begin. The cities hosting the men’s opening events are determined years in advance.
Lynn Holzman, NCAA vice president of women’s basketball, told the AP that the selection committee was expected to revisit the format in 2025, but possibly sooner. That was no consolation for Utah.
“For our players and staff to not feel safe in an NCAA tournament environment, it’s a waste,” Utah coach Lynne Roberts said.
There were other embarrassments, less serious. During a first-round game between Chattanooga and NC State in Raleigh, a referee was removed at half-time after it was revealed she had an apparent conflict – a master’s degree from Chattanooga.
Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo was forced in a Sweet 16 game against Oregon State to remove her nose piercing that she had been playing with all season. It’s unclear why she wasn’t informed of a rule prohibiting piercing before the match.
“It’s hard because you know I was on a roll and having to sit down for five minutes because of a nose ring is stupid,” she said.
The biggest mistake was the two different 3-point lines on the floor in Portland. The arc on one side was about 9 inches from regulation at its top, a error by the entrepreneur who makes use of the courts throughout March madness.
UConn guard Paige Bueckers (5) shoots a 3-point shot during the first half of an Elite Eight college basketball game against Southern California in the women’s NCAA tournament, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Portland , Oregon.
Jenny Kane | P.A.
“For a mistake of this magnitude to overshadow what was an incredible two weekends of basketball with sensational teams and incredible individual performances is unacceptable and extremely upsetting,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said.
In 2022, Oregon’s Sedona Price caused a stir when she posted a video that went viral on social media showing the inequity between the men’s and women’s weight rooms for the NCAA Tournament. The men’s gym was fully equipped. The women had a small set of dumbbells.
Weight rooms have been equalized by the NCAA. The 3-point line was also quickly addressed once discovered – but not before five tournament games had been played on the court.
NCAA spokeswoman Meghan Durham Wright said in a statement that the organization “took immediate action to address isolated incidents that in no way affected the incredible accomplishments of the women participating in this tournament.”
It is likely that the NCAA will continue to face such issues as women’s soccer continues to grow. Clark and Iowa played the most-watched women’s college basketball game on record. Iowa wins 94-87 against LSU Monday night averaged 12.3 million viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen. More viewership records will likely fall with the Final Four this weekend, including a clash between Clark and Paige Bueckers.
And indeed, there are concerns about super regional format. While the men’s tournament is divided into four regional sites, the women’s teams are grouped into two in opposite regions of the country.
With so many teams in one place, planning practices and locker rooms becomes a challenge. Some teams, like UCLA and Oregon State, landed in Albany, while UConn was in Portland, making it harder for fans to attend.
Auriemma was direct.
“With eight teams,” he says, “it’s a bit of a mess.”
