2022 March Madness Changes for Greater Equity

Change has been brewing for the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship - this year they are set to use March Madness marketing and branding. One branding change that is small but mighty was the NCAA removing their March Madness twitter and changing the handles on their other accounts to @MarchMadnessWBB and @MarchMadnessMBB. The name recognition that comes with using ‘March Madness’ will broaden the women’s marketing opportunities and help pull more viewership to the tournament.

This is seen to be one of the first steps to greater equity between the the tournaments. Another move being made to increase equity between the two championships is the implementation of a zero-based budgeting method, meaning the championships staff will determine budgeting needs from scratch rather than adjusting based on the previous fiscal year. In addition, the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees and Men’s and Women’s Basketball Oversight Committees are conducting regular meetings to ensure alignment between the championships. 

2021 Women’s Final Four Stanford vs. Arizona: Image Source

The increased talk and focus on equity this go-round brings attention back to the March Madness tournaments last year, when we got an inside view of the areas of inequity from the players themselves. One of the more notable players to ‘expose’ the NCAA for their lack of fair treatment was Sedona Prince who plays for Oregon and posted comparisons on TikTok of the mens and women’s meals, swag bags, and weight rooms to show the difference in treatment.

After the videos gained popularity the NCAA worked quickly to fix their mistakes and provide the women with more appropriate weight rooms etc. and it’s expected this year they will come out the gate with the proper amenities and accoutrements.