NCAA D-I Board of Directors introduces proposal to create distribution fund, units for women's basketball tournament

The NCAA is closing in on a distribution fund, including units, for the women’s basketball tournament. Tuesday, the D-I Board of Directors introduced a proposal that could take effect for 2025.

Under the proposal, the NCAA would create a Women’s Basketball Equal Conference Fund and Women’s Basketball Performance Fund, and a vote is expected in January during the NCAA Convention. Both funds would go into place in time for the March Madness 2025 and give the women’s tournament a financial element similar to the men’s side.

The proposal would create a combined $25 million in women’s basketball funds that would build up over three years. Those units would pay out to the respective conferences on a rolling three-year basis.

Conferences in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament receive a unit for each game a team plays that pay out over six years. That hasn’t been the case in the women’s tournament, but the proposal is a step closer to making it a reality.

“This is a momentous day, and the Division I Board of Directors Finance Committee is proud to have led the efforts that brought us to the introduction of this proposal,” said Central Arkansas president Houston Davis, chair of the D-I Board of Directors Finance Committee. “If approved in January, these funds will again advance the NCAA’s efforts to support gender equity and continue investment in the sport of women’s basketball.”

In 2023, the SEC had the biggest payouts from the NCAA Tournament with $34 million in payouts, according to Sportico. The Big 12 was right behind with $32 million, closely followed by the Big East at $30 million and the Big Ten with $28 million. During the 2024 tournament, the NCAA was preparing to pay out more than $171 million from the Basketball Performance Fund.

The timing of the NCAA’s proposal comes after a TV viewership and overall popularity surge during last year’s tournament. Largely fueled by Caitlin Clark and Iowa, the last three games set viewership records, capped by the title game between the Hawkeyes and South Carolina. That matchup brought in 18.7 million viewers to become ESPN’s most-watched basketball game of any kind since 2019.

Women’s basketball is also part of the new eight-year, $920 million deal that kicks in this year and will keep the NCAA Tournament on ESPN until 2032. Despite losing some star power to the WNBA Draft, there are still some marquee names coming back in 2024-25, as well – headlined by Paige Bueckers, Juju Watkins and Flau’jae Johnson.