Fans pose with a Final Four logo before a college basketball game during the Final Four round of the NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in April.
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AJ Mast/AP
Fans pose with a Final Four logo before a college basketball game during the Final Four round of the NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in April.
AJ Mast/AP
A much-anticipated external study found that the NCAA treated the women’s games unfairly, undervaluing and underfunding them for years.
Led by the New York law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP, The report recommends reforms to NCAA basketball programs. It calls for a combined Final Four tournament and changes to the organization’s leadership structure, media contracts and revenue calculations.
The review was launched in March, when the NCAA came under fire after a video of the minimal equipment in the women’s weight room during the organization’s championships was posted by the University of California basketball player. Oregon, Sedona Prince. The video, which immediately gained traction on TikTok, showed that the NCAA failed to provide Division I women’s basketball teams with the lavish amenities it provided for men’s tournaments. The NCAA commissioned the review shortly afterward.
Today, the 113-page report reveals evidence of “systemic problems of gender inequality” within the NCAA.
“When it comes to women’s basketball, the NCAA has failed to live up to its stated commitment to ‘diversity, inclusion and gender equality among its student-athletes, coaches and administrators’” , the report says.
The report describes the undervaluation of women’s teams as “perpetuating a false narrative that women’s basketball is destined to be a ‘money loser’ year after year.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
He notes an increase in TV audiences and “huge social media followings for players,” and says the NCAA could negotiate much higher fees for coverage of women’s games.
The report found numerous instances of gender inequality in the NCAA’s treatment of women’s teams, including providing women’s teams with less effective COVID-19 testing and poor quality food, while also seeking food sponsorships company with Wendy’s, Pizza Hut and Buffalo Wild Wings to feed the men’s tournament. players.
The NCAA spent $2.4 million on signage for the men’s tournament, but only $783,000 on signage for the women’s tournament, adding to the list of items that make the two events “very different in appearance and their ambiance,” the report states. The organization has repeatedly denied women’s tournament organizers the use of March Madness branding on any promotional materials.
After disparities in the women’s tournament came to light this spring, the NCAA apologized but also pointed out that women’s soccer generates less money than men’s. However, the study found that the NCAA “distorted” the calculations the organization released in a fact sheet claiming that women’s basketball was losing them money.
The external review found that systemic disparities are driven in part by the fundamental financial agreement between the NCAA and its member schools, which the report said is “designed to maximize the value and support of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.” Division I as the primary source.” funding for the NCAA and its members.
A statement from the NCAA Board of Governors said the organization is “fully committed to an equitable experience between its championships.”
“We know that this has not always been the case and the example of the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship is an important impetus for us to improve our championship experience so that this does not happen again,” says the press release. “This report provides useful advice to improve our championships.”
The statement added that the board of directors asked the NCAA president to “act with urgency to resolve any organizational issues” and called on him to begin work this week to outline the NCAA’s next steps .
Josie Fischels is an intern on NPR’s News Desk.
