Women’s March Madness Eyes Another Change: Go Fully Neutral?

TAMPA, Fla. — As the women’s March Madness tournament continues to grow, the NCAA may soon make another major format change.

NCAA VP for women’s basketball Lynn Holzman told Front Office Sports that the next step for the tournament may be changing the location of its first two rounds and First Four to neutral sites rather than school campuses.

“As we continue to look to grow our fan base … having those campus-hosted sites has been a means for us to do that. Is that the model for the future? We have to do some very diligent, comprehensive business analysis around all of that,” Holzman said.

The tournament’s first two rounds have been hosted at campuses since its inception in 1982. When the First Four was added in 2022, it was also held at campuses. 

A year later, the NCAA made another format change, shifting the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight from four regional sites—which is similar to the men’s tournament—to two. The attendance numbers have skyrocketed since the change.

The NCAA has averaged 91,205 total fans at its regional games in the three years since making the change, up 54% from the 59,230 average between 2018, 2019, and 2022 (2020 tournament was canceled, 2021 limited by COVID-19).

“The metrics that demonstrate we have increased attendance at regionals, therefore we have increased ticket sales, therefore we have increased revenue, we have increased hospitality packages,” Holzman said. 

Not everyone is pleased with the change, though. “By going to two regionals, we’ve taken the game away from the people,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said Thursday in Tampa.

The timing of a potential format change for the initial rounds will likely not be executed by next year. “Almost anything is possible in the short run, but I think we have to be cautious. … There’s a lot that goes into it logistically,” Holzman said.

Final Four Staying Put

The format change highlights the NCAA’s efforts to improve the women’s tournament since the 2021 gender equity report revealed systemic problems. Other changes include giving the women’s tournament the “March Madness” moniker in 2022 and distributing unit payouts for teams starting this year.

However, one of the recommendations from the gender equity study that is not currently on the table is combining the Final Four of the men’s and women’s tournaments at one site.

“It is currently not an agenda item for either men’s and women’s basketball committees,” Holzman said.

This split format is assured until at least 2031. Both the men’s and women’s tournaments have already announced their host sites until then.