SPOKANE, Wash. — As the NCAA March Madness Tournament kicks off, men’s and women’s teams across the country are gearing up for some of the biggest games of their lives. This time around, the NCAA is taking extra steps to ensure an equal playing field for all teams.
Last year, a TikTok from University of Oregon redshirt sophomore forward Sedona Prince gained nearly seven million views. It showcased the difference between the women’s and men’s weight rooms in the bubble for the 2021 tournament.
There really wasn’t much to it. A small rack of free weights and a few workout mats were to be shared between the women for the duration of the first and second round. On the other hand, a viral photo of the men’s room featured rows of benches, dumbbells, and racks of weights spanning across an entire room.
This wasn’t the only area the women found disparities. The swag bags given to players by the organization were significantly smaller and even the tournament logos differed.
Since it all came to light last year, the NCAA hired a law firm to look into the inequalities between the men’s and women’s tournaments. What was discovered came in the form of a 113-page report detailing everything from staffing to media agreement to money distribution.
Since then, the NCAA said they’ve spent millions of dollars more on the women’s tournament this year, one of the most notable changes being the logo which for the first time is exactly the same as the men’s tournament.
“We work just as hard as the men do, we do the same things as the men’s team,” Gonzaga redshirt senior guard Cierra Walker said at the pre-game press conference. “It’s nice to be able to share the same logo and not have those differences.”
In addition to the logo, the women’s tournament has 68 teams this year instead of 64, game officials in men’s and women’s games will be paid the same amount, more fan events are scheduled for the women’s games, and the contents of the swag bags given to each player will be the same.
There are still a number of revenue and broadcasting issues people are hoping the NCAA can work out. However, players recognize this is the start of something good.
“It’s cool to be here the first year that things are changing,” Gonzaga senior guard Abby O’Connor said in the pre-game press conference. “We do the same things the guys do, so it’s nice to be treated equally.”