The high-stakes battle for the crown of Women's March Madness

Wealth & Business · Published 20 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In a fierce historical rivalry for governance, the NCAA eventually seized control of women's collegiate basketball from the AIAW. Today, that tournament faces its own hurdles: navigating smaller broadcast funding while rapidly climbing in viewership and expanding to mirror the scale of its men's counterpart.

The transition of power in women's collegiate athletics was a deliberate corporate move. From 1972 to 1982, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) governed the sport. However, as the NCAA sought sole governance, it added basketball to its championship program for the 1981–82 school year. After a single year of dual championships, the NCAA prevailed and the AIAW disbanded, establishing the framework for the modern tournament.

While the tournament has grown significantly in popularity—notably between 2003 and 2016—it operates under different financial mechanics than the men's game. The women's broadcast rights are held by ESPN and pooled with other NCAA Division I championships (excluding golf and men's basketball), while sponsorships are sold by CBS and Turner Sports. Despite these constraints, a major shift occurred in 2024, when the women's championship recorded higher viewership than the men's championship for the first time.

To bridge the gap in prestige and scale, the NCAA recently expanded the tournament to a 68-team format (2022–2026) before moving to a 76-team bracket in 2027. This expansion includes complex seeding mechanics: while most teams are placed into four regional divisions based on comparable competition, the top 16 seeds will be placed based solely on their ranking from 2027 onward, regardless of conference affiliation. The first NCAA tournament in 1982 saw most top teams choose it over the AIAW. Louisiana Tech notably entered as the defending champion of that previous organization.

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mood-reflective Starting in 2027, the twelve lowest-ranked conference champions will compete for seeds 14 through 16. Additionally, the twelve lowest-ranked at-large teams will play to secure their own spots in the round of 64.

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