A playbook for the NCAA to achieve equity

If Connecticut should claim bragging rights to anything, it’s as the capital of college basketball. It’s not just that the University of Connecticut has the most NCAA women’s basketball crowns (11, three more than runner-up Tennessee). Add those to the four claimed by their male counterparts and UConn has the most combined titles in college hoops.

Alas, men’s and women’s college basketball are not treated equally, which has been made clear by a TikTok video that exploded into a law firm’s 113-page report commissioned by the NCAA to examine its failings regarding equity.

The video was posted March 18 by University of Oregon player Sedona Prince, who contrasted the spacious workout equipment provided to men’s championship participants with the modest, single tower of hand weights offered to the women.

The subsequent report suggests that when it comes to fulfilling its commitment to “diversity, inclusion and gender equity among its student-athletes, coaches and administrators,” the NCAA has tossed an air ball.

The failings are numerous, ranging from severe staffing inequity to swag bags for the men that contain twice as many goodies as those for the women.

But the panel also suggests several bold remedies, including the concept of playing the Final Four games for both tournament at the same site. It also recommends moving to a zerobased budget model, updating the leadership structure of the NCAA and enhancing communication between the men’s and women’s divisions.

Tennis can be a model. Female tennis champions at the U.S. Open, for example, didn’t receive equal pay until Billie Jean King threatened a boycott almost 40 years ago. Even so, that wasn’t achieved at Wimbledon, tennis’ oldest tournament, until 2007.

One of the most provocative revelations of the report is the recognition that undervaluing women’s basketball is simply bad business. Interest in women’s college basketball has continued to rise over the past two decades, but the report suggests a contract with ESPN, based in Bristol, is outdated.

“The ESPN Multi-Media Agreement — now two decades since it was last put to bid—does not accurately reflect the value of women’s basketball in today’s market or sports media landscape, which has changed in important and significant ways since 2001,” the report states, adding that an independent media expert estimates annual broadcast rights for women’s basketball will be worth between $81 and $112 million in 2025.

The outcome of all this could be a costly for ESPN, as the report points to benefits of the contract the men have with CBS. Currently, women’s basketball lacks representation during negotiations about broadcast rights and partnerships.

If it is serious about addressing equity issues — and it needs to be — the NCAA will use the report as a playbook.

It should not have taken a TikTok video to see that this playing field was never even.

As the NCAA pivots, UConn should raise its own voice to help reforms move forward. We expect nothing less from the capital of college hoops.

One of the most provocative revelations of the report is the recognition that undervaluing women’s basketball is simply bad business. Interest in women’s college basketball has continued to rise over the past two decades, but the report suggests a contract with ESPN, based in Bristol, is outdated.