Women’s basketball is changing, and Dawn Staley believes the finances surrounding the game should follow suit. Ahead of South Carolina’s matchup against NC State in the Final Four, the Gamecocks’ head coach weighed in on the state of revenue distribution in women’s basketball.
“It’s been a buildup,” Staley said. “Our game has built up because we’ve been held back, quite frankly. We’ve been held back a very, very long time to now I think the fact that our TV deal was up. And I think ESPN has done a great job at broadcasting, giving us access to — a lot of games came on television this year that I probably watched the most out of any year this particular year.
“There’s the talent. There’s the talent. There’s the experienced talent that people want to see. There’s a younger generation talent that people want to see. And it’s in high demand. And there’s no other place to go besides broadcast them.”
Women’s basketball’s increased demand is undeniable. Propelled forward by talents such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, the sport has seen record-shattering ratings this season.
On Saturday, Iowa’s win over LSU in the Elite Eight averaged 12.3 million viewers, ESPN announced. The astounding figure is not only a record for women’s basketball, but is also the most viewers for a college basketball game in the network’s history.
Dawn Staley knows change is on the horizon.
“We’re going to get there,” Staley said. “I think the next thing that we need to make sure that our game has is the units. Like, you look at what the 68 teams are going to divide up, I think I saw 170 million between the 68 teams.
“When you start bringing in revenue like that, it will move your campus in a different direction when it comes to women. So we’ve got to fight for that.”
The discrepancy between men and women’s basketball
The NCAA will have no shortage of revenue to share. In January, the NCAA and ESPN announced on a $920 million, eight-year agreement that will give the network exclusive rights to 40 championships, including the Division I women’s basketball tournament.
Nonetheless, as of now, schools still receive no financial compensation for their women’s teams participating and advancing in the NCAA tournament. In contrast, in men’s basketball, “units” are awarded to each conference for their success. This financial compensation is then distributed to the schools.
Despite the current discrepancies between men and women’s basketball, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips believes women’s basketball’s revenue system will eventually reflect its counterpart.
“It’s not a matter of if. I think it’s when,” Phillips said on Wednesday. “To me, it shows the maturation of an incredible game and the growth that we’ve all benefited from. Now, how do you execute it? Where do the dollars come from? How do you assess what the units are worth, et cetera? To be having these types of conversations, it’s reflective of the elevation of women’s sports.”
The post Dawn Staley: Women’s basketball must fight for higher revenue earnings appeared first on On3.
