Selection Monday?
The NCAA Div. I Women's Basketball Committee has pushed ESPN's announcement of the tournament bracket from the traditional Sunday afternoon spot to Monday night. And while the name may not hold the awesome power of its Sunday cousin, the committee hopes the move will take the women's game out of the shadow of the goliath enterprise that is men's college basketball and generate some publicity of its own.
Last year, the men's bracket was announced at 3 p.m. EST to packed arenas across the country. The women's announcement followed at 5 p.m. - just about the time people were sitting down to Sunday dinner.
By splitting the broadcasts, the NCAA hopes to generate some exposure for the women's game as more than just an outgrowth of the men's game.
"The women's basketball championship has become one of the premier sporting events annually," said John Wildhack, ESPN's vice president of programming in a press conference. "By creating a distinct women's selection night, the Monday evening slot will assist in the continued growth of the sport. We plan to utilize our assets to promote and develop what we believe is the next major college sports franchise."
Wildhack's final claim is not unfounded. Women's hoops has grown in popularity as talent, athleticism and even the highlight-reel flashiness of the nation's best players have taken off in the past decade. The 2004 NCAA Championship game between Connecticut and Tennessee was the second-most viewed basketball game in ESPN history - including men's college and NBA games - and this was after it held the record alone for nearly a month before the NBA playoff game between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons.
In response to, and largely fueling, the growth in popularity, ESPN has consistently increased its regular-season and tournament primetime coverage of women's basketball, showing 125 regular-season games in the 2005-2006 season, up from 100 last year. For the fourth year in a row, the ESPN networks, including ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN Full Court, will show all 63 women's tournament games, showing the first two rounds regionally and televising the final 15 games nationally.
While the men's tournament is televised on CBS, available to households without cable and therefore seen by a much wider audience, the increases in coverage for the women's tournament are important steps in a wider fan base and are part of a restructured and reconceived vision for the future of the women's game.
That vision kicks off with the women's basketball coming-out party planned for 2006. From the nation's top teams to local high school and college players to WNBA owners to coaches from around the country, the many faces of women's hoops will descend on Boston for a week-long celebration of women's basketball.
"We have a great opportunity to gather in one city to celebrate the inspiring accomplishments, growth and popularity of women's basketball," said WNBA President Donna Orender. "This will be about dreams fulfilled and dreams inspired. With our Pre-Draft Camp in town and with our Draft taking place less than 24 hours after an NCAA national champion is crowned, Boston will be the Mecca of women's basketball during the first week of April."
The NCAA Final Four on Apr. 2 and 4, the WNBA pre-draft camp at Emerson College on Apr. 3, and the 25th Women's Basketball Coaches Convention will lead up to the 10th annual WNBA Draft, to be held Apr. 5 in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
This year marks the first time that the draft will be held outside of the NBA TV studios in New Jersey. In honor of the celebration, the WNBA will invite local youth league and high school players to the Draft Day events.
The pre-draft camp will showcase some 40 of the top prospects from the Class of 2006 as WNBA coaches and owners evaluate the talent pool and their own needs. The Minnesota Lynx have the top pick and will have first crack at what are widely considered the top four draft prospects - LSU's Seimone Augustus, Duke's Monique Curry, Rutgers' Cappie Poindexter and Baylor's Sophia Young.
