Women's NCAA Tournament shatters viewing records even as season beset by mishaps

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A huge disparity between the men's and women's weight rooms drew attention to the women's NCAA Tournament for all the wrong reasons in 2022, starting a conversation about equity that has carried over into today. Then this season brought the mismatched 3-point lines in Portland, Oregon.

The incorrectly drawn lines were among a series of miscues that have been a backdrop to what’s otherwise been a big moment for women’s basketball.

The issues have had little to do with the players on the court or the fans in the stands. There have been record-setting crowds and historic TV ratings, headline-grabbing moments from Caitlin Clark and JuJu Watkins, and the epic Elite Eight duels between Iowa and LSU, and UConn and USC.

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It was only two seasons ago that the tournament's field grew to 68 teams just like the men’s side, and the women were finally able to use the March Madness and Final Four branding that had previously been exclusive to the men.

The exponential growth means that mistakes are possible along the way, UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.

"The attention generated now on the sport is such that things like this are blown up. Maybe this was happening 10 years ago and nobody paid any attention to it. Maybe nobody was even smart enough to notice or pay attention," Auriemma said about the court issue. "It certainly doesn’t take away from the performance of these kids and what they did. Sometimes things grow so fast and they explode so quickly that we hurry up and we miss a step."

The 3-point