Ackerman Submits White Paper on WCBB to NCAA

[UConnCat]

Val Ackerman's white paper has been mentioned in other threads. A link to the report appears alongside the article from the NCAA's website:
http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball...te-paper-outlines-recommendations-spark-growt

The report contains a number of recommendations and ideas, some that can be implemented rather easily and others that are more controversial and require further discussion (including on this board, I hope). The report and recommendations are divided into 6 categories:

Vision, values and priorities

• Begin to establish an identity that is separate from men's basketball
• Adopt a “Heritage Track,” where efforts would be made to improve the quality of play and build on women’s basketball’s existing reputation for being fan-friendly and the leader among intercollegiate women’s sports.
• Adopt a parallel “Innovation Track,” where the focus would be on distinguishing women’s college basketball from the men’s game in new and exciting ways. This could include innovations in playing rules, the tournament, uniforms, game presentation, broadcast look and off-court activities. The goal of this track is to re-energize the sport and in that way stimulate a new wave of interest among student-athletes, coaches, sponsors, the media and fans.

The tournament

• Switch the Women’s Final Four dates back to a Friday/Sunday format instead of the current Sunday/Tuesday format.
• The Division I Women’s Basketball Committee should explore using a two-site, super-regional format for the second week of the tournament when the regional semifinals and finals take place, rather than the current four-site format.
• The top 16 seeds in the tournament should host first- and second-round games.
• She recommends that the NCAA study the potential use of a different competitive format that would allow lower-seeded teams (33-64) to play each other in the early rounds, with the winners advancing to play one of the top 32-seeded teams. This would create more competitive games and a better experience for the student-athletes from the lower-seeded teams.
• The NCAA should experiment and conduct a future Women’s Final Four on the weekend following the men’s tournament to determine the effects. Also in the spirit of innovation, she recommends that the NCAA consider taking a cue from tennis and combine the men’s and women’s Final Four, also on a one-time trial basis, with the goal of creating an unparalleled showcase of the best in college basketball.
• Should future women’s tournaments remain separated from the men but in the current time frame, Ackerman recommends that a multi-year site be established for the Women’s Final Four, so that equity can be built in a single market along the lines of the College Baseball World Series in Omaha.

The game

• To address declines in shooting percentages and scoring, Ackerman recommends that playing rules be re-examined with an eye to speeding up the women’s game, reducing physicality and making it easier for teams to score. She also recommends that a “rules laboratory” be created so that radical rules suggestions (such as lowering the rim) can be properly tested.
• She suggests developing incentive programs to reward shooting accuracy and proposes that an annual award be created for the women’s player who achieves the highest field-goal percentage, potentially in conjunction with the Naismith Hall of Fame.
• To increase competitive parity reduce scholarships from 15 to 13, so that the better student-athletes could be spread to a higher number of programs. The remaining two scholarships could be used to fund other women’s sports teams.
• The NCAA should study whether the WCBB season should be shortened or conducted over one semester (e.g., during fall or spring semester, etc)
• Intensify ongoing efforts to improve the quality of officiating with emphasis on recruiting and training and establishing more meetings between coaches and officials to discuss areas of concern

Business of women’s basketball

• Adopt more aggressive sales, marketing and promotional strategies so the sport can generate bigger crowds and, in turn, better financial results.
• entice incremental spending in women’s basketball with existing NCAA partners or new partners.
• Improve viewership of women’s games on television during the regular season through a more aggressive strategy of promoting these contests so viewers know where to find them.
• Ackerman noted the effectiveness of cause marketing in women’s sports and suggests the creation of an additional national initiative that appeals to a younger demographic.

Governance and management

• Ackerman noted that the marketing of women’s basketball is complicated because seniors, women and families make up the majority of fans in-arena, but the television audience is mostly male.
• Ackerman believes a clearer strategy is needed to grow the audience, which will in turn require a more focused effort at both the national office and the committee level.

Enhancing growth

• Ackerman believes the time is right for women’s college basketball to conduct a rigorous self-examination and chart out its next phase of growth.
• She points to historical growth periods in the sport starting with the Title IX legislation that passed 40 years ago.
• The next significant period of growth came with the emergence of Connecticut’s program in the 1990′s. This led to the Huskies’ storied rivalry with Tennessee, and, according to Ackerman, the heightened interest this match-up created contributed, in turn, to the launch of the WNBA in 1997.
• The next period of growth came in the early to mid-2000s. The 2004 national title game between Connecticut and Tennessee drew an all-time high rating of 4.28 on ESPN.
• The 2013 Connecticut Louisville title game drew a rating of 2.36.

 

[Vowelguy]

Good stuff. Great to have some pushing the boundaries and putting issues on the table.

In terms of the tournament ...

I don't like this:

• The Division I Women’s Basketball Committee should explore using a two-site, super-regional format for the second week of the tournament when the regional semifinals and finals take place, rather than the current four-site format.

But I do like these:

• The top 16 seeds in the tournament should host first- and second-round games.
• She recommends that the NCAA study the potential use of a different competitive format that would allow lower-seeded teams (33-64) to play each other in the early rounds, with the winners advancing to play one of the top 32-seeded teams. This would create more competitive games and a better experience for the student-athletes from the lower-seeded teams.
• Should future women’s tournaments remain separated from the men but in the current time frame, Ackerman recommends that a multi-year site be established for the Women’s Final Four, so that equity can be built in a single market along the lines of the College Baseball World Series in Omaha.

 

[meyers7]

I don't like this:

• 
  [ ]The Division I Women’s Basketball Committee should explore using a two-site, super-regional format for the second week of the tournament when the regional semifinals and finals take place, rather than the current four-site format.

That's the one I really like. 4 games and 2 games at each site, instead of the 2 and 1.

 

[Vowelguy]

That's the one I really like. 4 games and 2 games at each site, instead of the 2 and 1.

With 4 regionals, UConn has been able to play within 200 miles of home most years it's a #1 seed. With only 2 regionals, that would be much less likely.

 

[UConnCat]

That's the one I really like. 4 games and 2 games at each site, instead of the 2 and 1.

I like this one too.

 

[UConnCat]

Fashion and appearance didn't escape Val's attention. Did she interview Chris Dailey?

• Devise procedures to be followed by the appropriate institutional personnel (e.g., coaches, trainers or other athletic department officials) to ensure that player uniforms are correctly sized and fit properly. If necessary, enact fit guidelines and create a monitoring system at the conference level.
• In conjunction with uniform manufacturers (e.g., Nike, Adidas and/or Under Armour) host a fashion forum prior to the start of the s013-2014 season to explore options with respect to a new uniform style.
• Many of the people I spoke with voiced concerns about the proliferation of tattoos in women's college basketball, which they described as a potential turn-off for fans. Because of an increasing number of student-athletes appear to enter college with pre-existing tattoos, some suggest adopting a "no new tattoos" or a "no new visible tattoos" policy once players join their programs.

 

[alexrgct]

The tournament

• Switch the Women’s Final Four dates back to a Friday/Sunday format instead of the current Sunday/Tuesday format. Sure, why not?
• The Division I Women’s Basketball Committee should explore using a two-site, super-regional format for the second week of the tournament when the regional semifinals and finals take place, rather than the current four-site format. Could be cool, could be lame, worth trying.
• The top 16 seeds in the tournament should host first- and second-round games. Meh.
• She recommends that the NCAA study the potential use of a different competitive format that would allow lower-seeded teams (33-64) to play each other in the early rounds, with the winners advancing to play one of the top 32-seeded teams. This would create more competitive games and a better experience for the student-athletes from the lower-seeded teams. Love this idea.
• The NCAA should experiment and conduct a future Women’s Final Four on the weekend following the men’s tournament to determine the effects. Also in the spirit of innovation, she recommends that the NCAA consider taking a cue from tennis and combine the men’s and women’s Final Four, also on a one-time trial basis, with the goal of creating an unparalleled showcase of the best in college basketball. The first suggestion does nothing for me one way or another. Co-locating the Final Four is a poor idea that should be scrapped immediately. Tennis is irrelevant.
• Should future women’s tournaments remain separated from the men but in the current time frame, Ackerman recommends that a multi-year site be established for the Women’s Final Four, so that equity can be built in a single market along the lines of the College Baseball World Series in Omaha. I have no issue with this, as long as it's a location people WANT to visit frequently. A few schools are regulars at the Final Four, after all.

The game

• To address declines in shooting percentages and scoring, Ackerman recommends that playing rules be re-examined with an eye to speeding up the women’s game, reducing physicality and making it easier for teams to score. She also recommends that a “rules laboratory” be created so that radical rules suggestions (such as lowering the rim) can be properly tested. For the love of God, don't lower the rim.
• She suggests developing incentive programs to reward shooting accuracy and proposes that an annual award be created for the women’s player who achieves the highest field-goal percentage, potentially in conjunction with the Naismith Hall of Fame. Weird.
• To increase competitive parity reduce scholarships from 15 to 13, so that the better student-athletes could be spread to a higher number of programs. The remaining two scholarships could be used to fund other women’s sports teams. Please do this, though it won't help much in terms of competitive balance.
• The NCAA should study whether the WCBB season should be shortened or conducted over one semester (e.g., during fall or spring semester, etc). Dumb
• Intensify ongoing efforts to improve the quality of officiating with emphasis on recruiting and training and establishing more meetings between coaches and officials to discuss areas of concern Yes please

Business of women’s basketball

• Adopt more aggressive sales, marketing and promotional strategies so the sport can generate bigger crowds and, in turn, better financial results. Brilliant. How?
• entice incremental spending in women’s basketball with existing NCAA partners or new partners. Brilliant. How?
• Improve viewership of women’s games on television during the regular season through a more aggressive strategy of promoting these contests so viewers know where to find them. Don't think knowing where to find games is the crux of the issue.
• Ackerman noted the effectiveness of cause marketing in women’s sports and suggests the creation of an additional national initiative that appeals to a younger demographic. Brilliant. How?

 

[alexrgct]

Fashion and appearance didn't escape Val's attention. Did she interview Chris Dailey?

• 
  [ ]Devise procedures to be followed by the appropriate institutional personnel (e.g., coaches, trainers or other athletic department officials) to ensure that player uniforms are correctly sized and fit properly. If necessary, enact fit guidelines and create a monitoring system at the conference level.
  [ ]In conjunction with uniform manufacturers (e.g., Nike, Adidas and/or Under Armour) host a fashion forum prior to the start of the s013-2014 season to explore options with respect to a new uniform style.
  [ ]Many of the people I spoke with voiced concerns about the proliferation of tattoos in women's college basketball, which they described as a potential turn-off for fans. Because of an increasing number of student-athletes appear to enter college with pre-existing tattoos, some suggest adopting a "no new tattoos" or a "no new visible tattoos" policy once players join their programs.

Why not enforce a BMI-based weight limit while we're at it? Maybe some form-fitting unis like the Aussie women had one Olympics cycle? Good grief, this is ridiculous.

 

[Samanthabrown3]

• [ ]Devise procedures to be followed by the appropriate institutional personnel (e.g., coaches, trainers or other athletic department officials) to ensure that player uniforms are correctly sized and fit properly. If necessary, enact fit guidelines and create a monitoring system at the conference level.
  [ ]Many of the people I spoke with voiced concerns about the proliferation of tattoos in women's college basketball, which they described as a potential turn-off for fans. Because of an increasing number of student-athletes appear to enter college with pre-existing tattoos, some suggest adopting a "no new tattoos" or a "no new visible tattoos" policy once players join their programs.

Do their uniforms fit badly? I hadn't noticed.

Love the idea of a "no new tattoos" policy, but, then, I'm old.

 

[ASweet3781]

She brought up some good issues.

I do not believe the Final Four should be held in the same city. When the Final 4 this decade made return trips to cities like St. Louis, Indianapolis, and San Antonio, there were decisively less people in attendance than in their original host year. When they went to NEW cities for the first time like Denver, Tampa, and Boston they got sell outs. People who travel every year like going to new destinations. At least I do.

1st and 2nd rounds should be held on the 8 sites of the 1 and 2 seeds. Pre determined sites are ridiculous.

I love how they skirt some of the elephants in the room. How the cancellation of the biggest rivalry in the sport UConn-Tennessee was a complete disaster and has definitely contributed to the stall of the growth of the sport. The only rivalry that even touched it was UConn-Notre Dame and that just started in the last 3 years. Imagine Baseball's ratings and attendance and interest if Yankees-Red Sox stopped playing. Yikes.

Would also have been nice to touch on ESPN who I believe has had a mighty fall in the same period in the quality of their broadcasts and anchors. Kara Lawson cannot make up for going from the class act and highly professional and likeable Robin Roberts to highly abrasive Trey Wingo, Carolyn Peck and Doris Burke and the Cliff Notes like coverage of the sport on the network (IE. 3 to see. staying with 40 pt blowouts involving a name team when there were far more competitive match ups going on at similar times). I just feel ESPN is less professional and their standards have gone down in terms of productions. I cringe at some of the segments they show these days.

 

[Icebear]

Do their uniforms fit badly? I hadn't noticed.

Love the idea of a "no new tattoos" policy, but, then, I'm old.

I'm thinking an all visible flesh mandatory tattoo policy is required.

 

[Samanthabrown3]

the Cliff Notes like coverage of the sport on the network (IE. 3 to see. staying with 40 pt blowouts involving a name team when there were far more competitive match ups going on at similiar times).

I like staying with the 40-point blowouts as long as the name team is UConn.

 

[Vowelguy]

I love how they skirt some of the elephants in the room. s.

I disagree. This was a document for the NCAA and the things it can control. Unless you want the NCAA to start dictating regular season matchups, there's nothing it can or could've done about the ct-tn series.

Secondly, if the NCAA is unhappy with ESPN, it is free to go to another network at the next contract. Just don't complain if it's a channel that your cable system doesnt carry. ESPN has paid good money for the tournament, and thus has an interest in promoting it and generating the best ratings possible. You might not agree with their methods, and they might not always work, but they're not fools either -- the success of their network depends on their ability to appropriately market the shows they carry.

 

[Fishy]

There's a lot of good ideas in there - and some purely horrible ones.

Containing the season to one semester reeks of cost-cutting and would do nothing but diminish the game. I'm not crazy about putting the women's final four in the same city as the men's final four. That's a perfect recipe for burying it entirely and making it more expensive for women's fans to travel and find accommodations.

Tattoos and better fitting uniforms read like guidelines at a Hooters' Restaurant and probably should be dismissed out of hand.

Improving the officiating? Yes, please. Get the best officials, not necessarily the officials who best check the appropriate demographic boxes.

Lowering the rim? No. Two site super regional? Maybe. Reducing scholarships? Overdue. Award for the best shooter? Come on. Having the lower seeded teams play each other before moving on to the higher seeds? Love it.

A fixed site like the college baseball world series? This might be a good thing. (I recommend Storrs.) Omaha has really wrapped themselves in the CWS and women's hoop final four might be something that a city could adopt.

 

[UConnCat]

Containing the season to one semester reeks of cost-cutting and would do nothing but diminish the game. I'm not crazy about putting the women's final four in the same city as the men's final four. That's a perfect recipe for burying it entirely and making it more expensive for women's fans to travel and find accommodations.

The rationale for the one-semester idea (Ackerman favors Spring over Fall) is to find a window of time when the women's game would face less competition from men's college sports (football and men's basketball in the Nov-Dec) and the men's tournament in March-April. I doubt the NCAA seriously considers this idea.

As for the idea of a combined men's and women's FF, Ackerman proposes it as an idea to experiment with, perhaps a one-time trial, to see if a single college basketball event (like Grand Slams in tennis) would allow the women's tournament to take advantage of sponsors, media, etc., which typically bypass the women's tournament. Her report acknowledges the downsides but she thinks it's worth having experience to assess the pros and cons of such an event. Still, it won't happen.

 

[UConnCat]

Ackerman proposes certain rule changes to speed up the game, reduce physical play and increase scoring:

• A 24-second clock (now used in WNBA and FIBA)
• A 16-foot lane (now used in WNBA and FIBA)
• Four 10 minute quarters (now used in WNBA and FIBA)
• Larger restricted area under the basket (now used in WNBA and FIBA)
• Allowing teams to advance the ball to the 28-foot hash during the last 2 minutes of games to allow for more exciting plays at the end of games
• Modify hand-checking rules to further restrict contact with dribbler

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I am not an advocate of advancing the ball in the last 2 minutes. To me, it is just a way to, as she said, create more exciting plays. At the expense of playing the game the way it is played the rest of the time. Not my thing. (I love it in the pro's, which, after all, are more of an entertainment product).

Against the tattoo thing - I don't care for them on either sex, but start regulating them in the women's game when you start regulating them on the men's side.

 

[Brad Palmer]

Something must be done to increase scoring. The NFL did it by adjusting the rules to favor offenses. With UConn women, this is obviously not a big deal but when fans turn on an ESPN game and see the score is 21-15 at the half, this is a big deal.

Part of this starts at the AAU level, where teams don't shoot free throws until the 10th foul of the half (and then only one and one) and players are each allowed 6 personal fouls. This encourages teams to be overly physical because foul trouble never comes into play. The d1 women's game for 75% of the teams is flat out boring, with many teams averaging 2-4 fast break points per game. zzzzzzzz.

Love the idea of a "one-time experiment" with both men's and women's F4 at the same site. If it doesn't work, drop it. Sweet 16 with 8 teams at 2 different sites is also a good idea.