NCAA Continues To Build Women’s Hoops With New Tournament, More Money
Monday, July 17, 2023 at 06:56PM By Barry Janoff
July 17, 2023: Following months of discussion, the NCAA has confirmed and provided details for the creation of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament.
The 32-team post-season tournament, which will be owned and funded by the NCAA, will be held annually beginning in the 2023-2024 post-season.
The tournament will operate as a second option for 32 teams that do not make the NCAA tournament.
The WBIT was unveiled as a strategic growth plan by the NCAA last October and then advanced in January.
"Women's basketball is at an all-time high with records being set for national championship and Final Four viewership, and the tournament was the most viewed since 2009," Jamie Boggs, chair of the Div. I Women's Basketball Oversight Committee and vp-athletics for Grand Canyon, said via the NCAA.
“This tournament will create an additional NCAA-funded postseason opportunity for women's basketball, and it comes at a time when we are seeing tremendous growth in popularity for women's basketball."
The NCAA also released branding for the tournament, which continues to highlight orange in alignment with other NCAA women's basketball branding, including the March Madness logo. The WBIT logo — “which is inspired by a backboard and net” — also will feature blue to tie in to the NCAA's primary branding.
The NCAA said broadcast and other details would follow.
The Women’s March Madness tournament airs on ESPN.
With the addition of the WBIT, the NCAA said 100 post-season NCAA-funded opportunities will be available for Div. I women's basketball teams, equal to that of men's basketball through its two events (the 68-team championship and 32-team National Invitation Tournament).
In January, the Div. I Board of Directors approved increasing championship budgets and elevating the travel experience for student-athletes, with a focus on “revenue generation opportunities through championships and considering how revenues are distributed to Div. I members in line with championships performance.”
Details about the tournament's format — including the selection process, bracketing principles and host sites — will also be released later.
The NCAA said it would identify a selection committee, comprising women's basketball stakeholders and NCAA members, to administer the WBIT, later this summer.
At its summer meeting held this week in Savannah, Ga., the Div. I Women's Basketball Committee said it “discussed the growth of the championship (tournament) and ways to continue to guide the sport to new heights, including the possible expansion of the Div. I Women's Basketball Championship, although expanding the 68-team field is not imminent.”
"The committee and staff will continue to study options, meet with stakeholders and review the many championship models to make an informed decision that's in the best interests of the championship, though we are not there currently in regard to expanding the NCAA tournament field beyond 68 teams," Lynn Holzman, NCAA vp- women's basketball, said via the NCAA.
The last time the tournament expanded was before the 2022 championship, when the field went from 64 to 68 teams.
"While we are pleased women's basketball continues to grow and the accomplishments of the past season and championship, it's imperative for the committee and all women's basketball stakeholders to be diligent going forward,” Lisa Peterson, chair of the Division I Women's Basketball Committee and senior associate commissioner for sports management with the Pac-12 Conference, said via the NCAA.
“We will not rest on the successes we have experienced with the past championship and Women's Final Four,”
According to Peterson, “We have spent considerable time leading up to and during the meeting this week reviewing everything that touches the championship and looking for ways to continue growing and improving to make it better for our student-athletes, fans and partners."
The NCAA Div. I Men's Basketball Committee said it discussed a possible expansion of the Div. I Men's Basketball Championship during a three-day meeting earlier this month, also stating “expanding the 68-team field is not imminent.”
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