Minneapolis is jumping this weekend. Fans of women’s sports (and sports fans in general) are heading to see three of the most anticipated match ups of the season: South Carolina vs Louisville and Stanford vs UConn in the semi finals, and the winners play Sunday evening. If the viewership numbers are anything like the Elite 8 matchup between North Carolina State and Connecticut, Friday night could see over 2 million viewers.
It’s a homecoming of epic proportions for Connecticut star Paige Bueckers. The Edina native graduated from Hopkins High School. Her senior year, the team went 12-0 in their conference, and 30-0 over the season. They finished ranked #1 in the state and #6 nationally. Gatorade, her NIL partner, placed a colorful mural inside the Mall of America welcoming her home. Conceivably, she could win a national championship less than 20 miles from her house.
Today, Chegg
Growing events coincide with Final Four
The NCAA has added a growing number of events for fans to attend over the weekend, including:
- Official Fan Festival
- Free Youth Event
- Night of Music
- Free Open Team Practices
- Beyond the Baseline: Professional Development Panels
- Party on the Plaza
- Third Grade Statewide Reading Program
A check of the ticket resale market shows courtside seats going for over $750 each for Friday night’s doubleheader.
One more tidbit: If Stanford repeats as National Champion, they will only be the fourth NCAA school to do that in women’s basketball history (UConn, Tennessee and USC are the others).
Federal Focus on Gender Equity
Off the court this week, two activities involving members of Congress also hit the news. Senators Chris Murphy (CT), Cory Booker (NJ), Richard Blumenthal (CT) and Representative Lori Trahan (MA) held a live conversation covering all aspects of the challenges facing college sports. One panel focused on gender equity, mentioning that while women athletes have benefitted substantially from the ability to monetize their name, image and likeness (see: Gatorade and Paige Bueckers), there are hundreds of other examples of where higher education and college athletics departments have fallen far short of creating “equitable experiences” for all athletes.
Thursday, Representatives Carolyn Maloney (NY), Mikie Sherrill (NJ) and Jackie Spier (CA) introduced legislation in the House that supports accountability in women’s sports. Maloney called out those who have been so vocal recently about the rights for women to have equal opportunities to play sports, by tweeting “Lots of people have newly started talking about equality in women's sports. Would love to see any of those people support @RepSpeier, @RepSherrill, and my bill to actually promote equality in college sports... unless it was never about women's sports and just anti-trans rhetoric.”
“The Gender Equity in College Sports Commission Act” calls for the establishment of a “16-member congressional commission to investigate gender equity within the NCAA’s operation of tournaments, championships and other programs that have both men’s and women’s divisions”.
It directs the commission to provide policy recommendations to the NCAA that will encourage them to move quickly towards full compliance with Title IX. If passed, the bill requires a full report 12-18 months after assembling their members.
In a statement, co-sponsor Sherrill said, “The NCAA has shown a repeated lack of commitment to gender equity. Being a college athlete is the culmination of years of training, and hard work for the members of these teams. These athletes demonstrate unmatched levels of commitment to their sport and their universities. Yet, the players on the women’s and men’s teams have not been treated equally by the NCAA. Despite clear guidance from the firm the NCAA itself commissioned, they continue to fail to take basic steps toward equity. That’s why I’m proud to introduce this bill and join the fight that leaders from Billie Jean King to Megan Rapinoe have championed.”
Why Congress Needs to be Involved
Title IX, as written in 1972, was originally intended to address the blatant inequities in the educational opportunities for women, including denials of college admission simply based on an applicant’s gender. Most thought the law only applied to the academic side of campus; they were quickly disabused of that notion by the courts. The law applies to both academic and athletic offerings on campus, and includes high schools.
The authors of that legislation, Senator Birch Bayh, Representatives Edith Green and Patsy Mink, intended for the legislation to cover all programs that received any federal funding, even one dollar. While all kinds of legal challenges have been thrown at the law over the last 50 years trying to find ways to exclude college sports (or even just football) from the parameters, nothing has worked. Notably, it has failed to win any victories at the Supreme Court, despite being challenged nine times.
Yet, the inequities persist. As Oregon player Sedona Prince told USA Today, “I think it’s sad, because we’ve kind of gotten used to being screwed over.”
As you watch this weekend, remember how far the women have yet to go in order to achieve ‘full equity’-and then, imagine how good those games will be when they get there.
