Women's basketball teams to earn revenue for NCAA Tournament participation and performance

Women’s basketball teams will now benefit financially from NCAA Tournament appearances, thanks to approval of a unit-based pay structure that men’s teams have used since 1991. 

NCAA membership green-lighted the creation of a women’s performance fund Wednesday evening by unanimous vote. The payment system will take full effect for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

"This is a historic day for women's sports, women's basketball and the NCAA," NCAA President Charlie Baker said. "We have made investing in women's sports a priority, and today's vote means our members have the opportunity to do even more on campus to promote and support female athletes." 

The plan approved for the women’s tournament differs from the men’s only in fund size and payment period. Under the current structure, conferences will earn a “performance unit” for every tournament game played by a member team. Each of these units — 132 in total — represents a fixed amount of revenue to be paid to conferences, who have full discretion in distributing their total sums to member schools.

The men’s fund totals upwards of $200 million to be paid out over six years. The women’s fund will start at $15 million on a three-year timeline. This nest egg, which equates to about 26% of the women’s basketball media revenue deal, is roughly similar to the amount men’s basketball teams receive in their first year under the system.

The women’s $15 million fund total will increase to $20 million in the 2026-27 fiscal year, then $25 million in 2027-28. After that point, it will continue to grow at the 2.9% rate consistent with all other Division I revenue-distribution funds. 

Those numbers mean that a 2025 Final Four team would earn approximately $1.3 million for its conference over the next three years. Future tournaments will offer even larger payouts.

Dozens of coaches and players have applauded the change, which comes at a time of record-breaking women’s basketball interest. Last season, viewership of the women’s national championship drew 18.7 million viewers, outpacing the men’s championship by approximately four million.

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