Still More Proof that the NCAA's Malign, Incompetent

[UcMiami]

I need a sarcasm font.

Use an emogi

 

[CTBasketball]

So invest in women, make it equitable, as you must, & you will have a much better tournament.

You need to cater to your audience. Or potential audience in this case.

 

[dogged1]

For those of you that are arguing that the revenue generated by the tournament should determine the quality of treatment of the athletes based on sex, I would state that you are wrong. That argument presupposes the college athletics exists in a vacuum of only the tournament. The truth is that while athletics are outside of mainstream academics, they only exist because the colleges exist as academics institutions.

Today, more than 50% of college students are women and more than 50% of the degrees at most schools are granted to women. These women are paying tuition that pay the professors, and keep universities alive. Well you might argue that donors who support male teams are helping althetics, it is irrelevant because of title 9. Universities are bound to treat women fairly and equally. The NCAA gets around this because they are not bound by title 9. While that might be a legal argument, it’s certainly not an ethical one. Since women attend universities, pay tuition and are in fact part of the very life blood of these schools, they deserve no less than equal treatment at every level. Anyone who argues otherwise is saying that male students should get an inferior education, live in inferior housing and get worse text books because women make up greater than 50% of the tuition flow into the schools.

Since, of course that is silly, I would argue that schools must be treated as a whole of all of their programs and that includes both academics and sports. Regardless of where the contributions of each sex are coming from, you must treat all students equally at all times.

I can't argue that you certainly have the ethical, moral position here. One that I personally share. But as we both know the world is not a particularly fair place. The NCAA is not guided by what is fair and what is right. Like most big institutions they are in it to maximize money and power. As long as their is that large a disparity in revenue, the men's tournament will reign supreme. And further, the NCAA and it's tournaments are not the same at law as the schools and their athletic departments.

But I will say in their, the NCAA's, defense that they use the income from the men's tournament (there main source, they get very little from the football play-off) to support all the men's and women's Olympic sports programs. The NCAA itself, because they are not an educational institution receiving federal funds, they are not bound by title 9 as a matter of law. An excerpt from Forbes quoting Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg:

"The question in NCAA v. Smith was whether the NCAA qualified as a educational program that received Federal financial assistance such that it had to follow Title IX. In a unanimous decision, written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg (may she rest in power), the Court held that dues payments from recipients of federal funds were insufficient to subject the NCAA to suit under Title IX. Justice Ginsburg wrote, "[e]ntities that receive federal assistance [like the University of Oregon], whether directly or through an intermediary, are recipients within the meaning of Title IX; entities that only benefit economically [like the NCAA] from federal assistance are not." She concluded that "the Association's receipt of dues demonstrates that it indirectly benefits from the federal assistance afforded its members," which without more, "is insufficient to trigger Title IX coverage.""

In addition, most of the income at the division 1 college level athletic departments is generated by the football programs. So, in affect we have what you are looking for. The men's football and basketball programs are the cash cows that support all the other sports. With out them their would be no money for all the other athletic programs. Uconn does supplement the athletic department with student fees but it is a very small part of the athletic department budget and not the norm for Division 1 schools.

 

[BBallF]

Nell Fortner wrote an open letter to the NCAA which I just read and think is excellent. Responding to the above post, whether it is legally enforceable or not is not the issue. The issue is stark disparity of treatment, from the facilities, to the media, even to the announcers. The law is very slow by its very nature but as Victor Hugo once said "Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come". This will not be fixed in the halls of Congress, It will be fixed in the caverns of pubic opinion as long as the complaints and photos and videos reach a crescendo response. Just watch. The NCAA is not going to justify what they are doing on the basis of money. If they go that route, there will be a hue and a cry that may result in a backlash they will not be able to control.

 

[Bama fan]

I know that many here on the BY have expressed their dislike of Nell Fortner as a commentator for WCBB. But she is now head coach of Georgia Tech and as such wrote a scathing letter to the NCAA for the despicable treatment of the women and their tournament. She pulls no punches. Well done , Nell.

 

[LoboDays]

As of 2:15 PM, the NCAA website lists the games as they have been scheduled according to the original brackets. I think the info in the above post is based on Charlie Creme's confusing and misguided "reseeding", which is his opinion and not the official bracket schedue, which has not changed. ESPN still listing So. Florida vs. NC State and Iowa vs. Kentucky, along with all the other matchups previously announced and attained by the respective teams.

What about Butler? Do they get in now?
.

 

[Cuango]

In order for the women’s game to grow it needs a bigger audience. Revenue will not match the men’s tournament until they on-par with promotions and viewership.

They can promote all they want to. The bottom line is that most basketball fans are pretty ignorant of what is truly beautiful about the game. Teamwork, passing, etc just isn’t part of why they watch the game. They are there for the dunks, the attitudes, the speed and incredible athleticism of men who are essentially modern day giants. The women attract those of us who enjoy the other side of the game; teamwork, passing, screens, basically the fundamental skills that were what originally made basketball popular before the modern era. I doubt seriously they are going to find some hitherto untapped reservoir of fans who are just waiting to discover women’s basketball. Having said that, I am shocked at how tone deaf the NCAA is! This kind of stuff is a PR nightmare and is most definitely not a good look for them.

 

[Cuango]

That just shows how ignorant you are. The more coverage, the more interest. The more interest, the more viewers. The more viewers, the more money the women's championship brings in. It is a business decision, a jackass business decision by people who just don't get it.

Whoa! “That’s way harsh, Tai”

 

[CL82]

An article in the Hartford Courant on this issue (weight room, swag bags. "March Madness", etc.) stated that the men's tournament generated $1,000,000,000.00, yes, 1 billion, in revenue. The women's tournament generated $38,000,000.00 (38 million) in revenue. The numbers are approximate and vary year to year. But it does give you and idea of the disparity in income and the subsequent "worth" of the 2 events in the pocket of the NCAA.

I am a fan of the womens's game for a lot of reasons. The men's game also, but less so. So I want to see the women's game grow. The NCAA should also want this. After all two billion dollar tournaments would be better than one.

It would be in their best interest to get more seed money into the women's tournament and grow it's popularity and it's income. Over time Increases in the men's game revenue will be incremental. If nurtured, increases in the women's tournament revenue will be exponential.

If I recall correctly, Title IX does not have a profitability test as a prerequisite for equal treatment.

 

[bluedevil]

I noticed that some of the promos ESPN is doing features women players dancing like cheerleaders do...guess men don't dance...

 

[tomcat]

Women’s basketball, as well as the women’s tournament, does not make money. Photography and media costs money.

It sucks, but it’s definitely a business decision.

And if they keep making that business decision, it will stay the way it is, forever. A SMART business decision would be completely different. They could:
-- use equal photography and coverage of the tournaments, promoting them on all social media
-- use "March madness" for both men and women, not just men.
-- Promote the women's tournament in a way that is at least close to equal of the way they promote the men.

 

[Dublin]

The NCAA has a few days to correct the MISSING NCAA March Madness logo on the TWO Alamodome courts.

 

[LoboDays]

Lots of stuff mentioned here may help viewer attendance an overall following of the women’s game but what will help the most are the games played. The better the product, the more intense close games.....the bigger the interest. The women’s game is improving. Parity is improving, at the high end for now but that will continue to seep lower as more girls continue to get involved at elementary and high school levels. It will be a slow, but growing process. Right now there is a huge different between the top and bottom of many conferences. That has to change. The BE is a perfect example. If you are a UCONN fan or a fan of the opponent, you watch. A basketball fan looks for a more competitive game.

 

[Centerstream]

The NCAA has a few days to correct the MISSING NCAA March Madness logo on the TWO Alamodome courts.

Have their been March Madness logos for previous tournaments? I can remember courts having Regional Finals and Final Four logos but not the March Madness logos on the home team courts for the first two rounds

 

[Heytherego]

Title IX,which protects student-athletes from sex-based treatment, states colleges are required to offer men and women the same opportunities. The same number of women’s and men’s teams compete in the tournaments and, in general, women and men train and need the same equipment to prepare to compete. Although the NCAA won a ruling stating they aren’t required to follow Title IX, after the ruling the NCAA publicly stated its commitment to voluntary comply with Title IX's mandates. Which in this situation they were clearly non complaint.

 

[Martin]

They don't even bother to take pictures of the women!

Expect bogus deflections of blame. "Who? Us?"

By this point, it seems the NCAA is actively choosing to disrespect women's basketball players

Whether it's the facilities, the meals or the media access, college sports' governing body is favoring the men's tournament so much you have to wonder what's going on.

sports.yahoo.com

you forgot the word criminal. Not just incompetent and maligned.

 

[King Kong]

In order for the women’s game to grow it needs a bigger audience. Revenue will not match the men’s tournament until they on-par with promotions and viewership.

It is already a major sport that has a formidable future, but you cannot treat women as 2nd class citizens, as the NCAA has always done. With the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) changes that are coming & the continuing need to attract top talent, attitudes like yours will hold the sport back, & cause it damage. You speak as though you're selling widgets or hub caps, whereas 'Build it & they shall come' is more in order - When you say "It needs a bigger audience" - Would you promote it or ignore it? I think you don't care about women's basketball, that is the problem here.

 

[Zinethar]

We currently live in a world where Social Media, not entirely money, is the controlling factor. Businesses have been brought down in days when turned against in social media. It is at this point in time very powerful and it knows it. If social media got fired up and pointed at the NCAA, the college Presidents and ADs, and MOSTLY the sponsors things would quickly change. All it would take is a call out of a sponsor that only advertised on the men's game and not the women's and it could quickly make life very uncomfortable for that products CEO. I'm sure some of the older Boneyarders won't agree but our younger members I'm sure have seen this happen. If we are behind our women's teams in wanting change it can't rest just because they brought in a couple weights.

 

[Skeets]

Title IX,which protects student-athletes from sex-based treatment, states colleges are required to offer men and women the same opportunities. The same number of women’s and men’s teams compete in the tournaments and, in general, women and men train and need the same equipment to prepare to compete. Although the NCAA won a ruling stating they aren’t required to follow Title IX, after the ruling the NCAA publicly stated its commitment to voluntary comply with Title IX's mandates. Which in this situation they were clearly non complaint.

If the NCAA purposely does not follow Title IX (and they don't) then they need to get the "C" out of NCAA. Call it the NMAA, "National Money-Making Athletic Association". Yes, I am a little annoyed.

 

[thatguyed]

I'm not positive but it looks like sponsorship programs are too. In every arena for both the men and women, you can't miss the dozens and dozens of blue PowerAde "buckets" (I don't know what else to call them) by the benches and sometimes in the lower stands. For men's games, they seem to be fully stocked with multiple flavors of PowerAde. For the women, they're generally empty.

 

[msf22b]

. If it wasn’t worth money, then why does television broadcast every single game?

Surely Network TV is broadcasting every game (in contrast to the run-around they used to do) because viewership adequately supports it.

No, it's not quite as big a deal as the men's, but its obviously growing...
And the spectacular freshman and the rivalries already beginning this season cannot but help.

 

[Deadrody]

Women’s basketball, as well as the women’s tournament, does not make money. Photography and media costs money.

It sucks, but it’s definitely a business decision.

How DARE you speak the truth

 

[Zinethar]

My biggest disappointment since the obvious NCAA deficiencies has been the lack of outrage (real or faked) by ADs and college presidents. That is still a good old boys club. Real change has to start there Yes the men's game makes more money - it had a 40 year head start and didn't do so well either in its early years. The people claiming UConn women's basketball is bad for the game don't understand sports. #1 baseball draw - New York Yankees, #1 (in some minds) football draw - Dallas Cowboys. #1 Women's basketball draw - UConn. Reason is the same for all 3. They have large number of fans and large number of haters - both of which watch their game religiously.