Trademark “March Madness” missing from women’s tourney
Looking around the basketball facilities hosting women’s NCAA Tournament games there are no signs of March Madness.
At least not the iconic trademark “March Madness” that the NCAA uses to promote games this month.
It’s not on the courts, which say “NCAA Women’s Basketball” or feature the names and logos of the host teams.
“I didn’t realize that was an NCAA thing, but I certainly think that’s something that needs to be discussed and changed,” UConn’s acting head coach Chris Dailey said Monday when asked about March Madness.
“I think it looks a little embarrassing on the court when you see ‘Women’s Basketball’ and nothing connected to March Madness. There are women playing, so clearly it’s women’s basketball. I think everyone can get that. So, I think that certainly it’s something that needs to be discussed.”
When asked about the absent trademark, the NCAA said in a statement it will continue listening to the expectations of members and women’s basketball leadership while considering relations with “valued broadcast partners.”
“We are committed to working with all constituents to determine the best way forward for women’s basketball including the use of March Madness logos if desired,” the NCAA added in its statement.
It is another in a list of differences between the tournaments and became a topic of discussion after the Wall Street Journal reported Monday the NCAA’s trademark registrations for the phrase “March Madness” allow the organization to use it for both the men’s and women’s tournaments.
But NCAA doesn’t use them for both, at least not in same way. The attention being given the growing list of differences has caught the attention of administrators outside NCAA headquarters.
“There is a general concern among commissioners we need to do better by women’s basketball,” said Rich Ensor, commissioner of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and chair of the college commissioners association. “We’ll be discussing it further with the NCAA leadership team in the very near future.”