Jan. 15, 2025: Division I establishes a revenue distribution structure for women’s basketball that is similar to that of the men’s tournament. Teams participating and advancing in the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship will earn financial rewards for their conferences, with the value of the revenue distribution funds increasing to $25 million over three years. January 15, 2025 3
March 16, 2022: The Division I Women’s Basketball Championship kicks off with the inaugural First Four competition as the bracket expands to 68 teams. March 16, 2022 2
March-April 2021: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all rounds of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship are held in Indianapolis, and all rounds of the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship are held in San Antonio, marking the first time each tournament is played entirely in one geographic region. April 1, 2021 1
March 12, 2020: The Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, which had been played every year since 1939, and the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship are canceled for the first time by the NCAA Board of Governors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All 2020 NCAA winter and spring sports are canceled, as well. March 12, 2020 2
April 5, 2016: Coach Geno Auriemma leads UConn to an 82-51 win over Syracuse in the Women’s Final Four to capture the program’s fourth consecutive NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. The victory is also Auriemma’s 11th overall national title, which is the most in NCAA basketball, breaking the mark of John Wooden, who led the UCLA men’s team to 10 NCAA championships. April 5, 2016 1
December 1994: The NCAA and CBS agree to a $1.7 billion, eight-year television contract; ESPN agrees to expand its coverage of the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. December 1, 1994 0
March 29, 1987: Tennessee wins the first of eight Division I Women’s Basketball Championship titles between 1987 and 2008 under coach Pat Summitt. March 29, 1987 0
