2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament explained

Gender:Women's
Year:2021
Teams:64
Finalfourarena:Alamodome
Finalfourcity:San Antonio, Texas
Champions:Stanford Cardinal
Titlecount:3rd
Champgamecount:5th
Champffcount:14th
Runnerup:Arizona Wildcats
Gamecount:1st
Runnerffcount:1st
Semifinal1:South Carolina Gamecocks
Finalfourcount:3rd
Semifinal2:UConn Huskies
Finalfourcount2:21st
Coach:Tara VanDerveer
Coachcount:3rd
Mop:Haley Jones
Mopteam:Stanford

The 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 39th edition of the tournament began on March 21, 2021, in sites around San Antonio, Texas, and concluded with the championship game on April 4 at the Alamodome, with the Stanford Cardinal defeating the Arizona Wildcats 54–53 to win their third NCAA title.

Due to logistical considerations surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (which resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 tournament), and mirroring a similar decision by the men's tournament, the entire tournament was played in the San Antonio area rather than at sites across the country, with some first and second round games played in nearby San Marcos and Austin. The Alamodome hosted all games from the regional semifinals onward, including the originally-awarded Final Four and championship game.

Four schools, America East champion Stony Brook, Big South champion High Point, Missouri Valley champion Bradley and Utah Valley from the WAC (California Baptist won the WAC tournament, but was ineligible for the NCAA tournament because it is in the third year of a four-year transition from Division II), made their first appearance in the tournament.

Additionally, Tennessee continued its record streak of making every edition of the tournament. Arizona made its first-ever appearance in the Final Four. UConn extended its record streak of 13 consecutive Final Four appearances. Wake Forest and Washington State made their first appearances since 1988 and 1991, respectively.

Tournament procedure

The tournament's 64 teams consisted of the 31 conference champions (down from 32, due to the Ivy League having cancelled all winter athletics due to COVID-19),[1] and 33 "at-large" bids extended by the Selection Committee.

This tournament was the first since 1983 in which the RPI was not used in the selection process. On May 4, 2020, the NCAA announced that it would replace the RPI with the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool), a metric that has been used in the selection process for the men's tournament since 2019. The women's version of the NET uses input data specific to the women's game but is otherwise functionally identical to the men's version.[2]

Schedule and venues

On February 5, 2021, the NCAA announced that due to logistical considerations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic (which prompted the cancellation of the 2020 tournament), the entirety of the tournament would be conducted at sites in and around San Antonio and Austin (mirroring a similar decision for the men's tournament, which would similarly use venues in and around its Final Four host city of Indianapolis), rather than across the country;[3]

First and second round (March 21–22, 23–24)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) (March 27–30)

National semifinals and championship (final Four and championship) (April 2 and 4)

The Alamodome had two courts for first- and second-round games, and was converted to a single court for later rounds. Practices were held at the Alamodome and the Henry B. González Convention Center.[4] The regions were named after famous sites in San Antonio: the Alamo, the HemisFair, the Mercado, and the River Walk.[5]

All games were played behind closed doors (with only friends and family present) until the Sweet Sixteen at the Alamodome, which operated at 17% capacity (10,880) for the remainder of the tournament.[6]

Facilities inequality

Concerns over gender inequality were raised prior to the tournament, citing differences in the quality of facilities and amenities between the women's and men's tournament; among other examples, Arizona coach Adia Barnes criticized the lack of weight training equipment in the workout room (consisting of only a single tower of weights, in comparison to the larger weight room of the men's tournament). A video by Oregon forward Sedona Prince showing the aforementioned weight room drew wider attention to the disparity on social media.[7] Other forms of disparities were noted, including differing COVID-19 testing protocols, smaller "swag bags", and different food options.[8] [7]

The NCAA had originally planned for the full weight room to only become available for the Sweet Sixteen round.[7] Vice President of Women's Basketball Lynn Holzman stated that the NCAA had planned to expand the facilities in the workout room over the course of the tournament due to space constraints, but were "actively working to enhance existing resources at practice courts, including additional weight training equipment." Barnes stated that the Henry B. González Convention Center had "plenty of open areas" that could have been used, and that "it takes people like me that were pro players being a voice for things to change. There's a lot of voices out there. People care now. The fact that the NCAA responded so fast, I think that's good. That's meaningful."[9] [10] [7]

In a letter obtained by tournament broadcaster ESPN on March 22, NCAA president Mark Emmert stated that "much has been resolved", but that he would investigate "exactly how we found ourselves in this situation", and "directed our leadership team and appropriate staff to assess all the services, resources, and facilities provided to both the men's and women's teams so that we have a completely clear comparison".[11] The America East Conference and Ivy League sent a letter to Emmert, arguing that the incident "warrants a comprehensive discussion once the tournaments conclude about how we—national office staff and membership—can protect and ensure equity across all championships in the future, but especially in the sport of basketball."

The incident led to discussions surrounding other forms of inequalities between the men's and women's tournaments, including their difference in budget, no revenue bonuses awarded to schools for winning the tournament, NCAA marketing of "March Madness" having focused almost exclusively on the men's tournament (with the women's tournament having never officially used the name; and tournament branding often used generic "NCAA Women's Basketball" logos instead),[12] and the men's tournament often being referred to as "the NCAA tournament" by media and the general public with no disambiguation. In a Sportico op-ed, America East commissioner Amy Huchthausen accused the NCAA of "restricting women’s basketball from taking advantage of an emerging market", noting that the NCAA's official sponsorships are managed by the CBS Sports/Turner Sports consortium that broadcasts the men's tournament, and that the ESPN contract to televise the women's tournament (which is bundled with those of other NCAA championships) "provides a measure of financial certainty, but it does not provide women's basketball (or any of the other sports, for that matter) an incentive to grow".[13] [14]

The NCAA commissioned an independent review of gender equality among all of its championships by the law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP; the first phase, focusing specifically on NCAA basketball championships, was published on August 3, 2021. The review concluded that the structure of the NCAA's operations were designed to "maximize the value of and support to the Division I Men's Basketball Championship as the primary source of funding for the NCAA and its membership"; it found that the CBS/Turner sponsorship contracts require advertisers to pay for marketing rights across all of the NCAA's championships (including the men's tournament, which can be costly), and that advertisers also had to separately pay ESPN for airtime during the women's tournament's telecasts. The review included several recommendations, including that:[15] [16]

The NCAA implemented two of these recommendations—the expansion to a 68-team format, and use of the "March Madness" branding—for the 2022 tournament.[17] The NCAA renewed its contract with ESPN in January 2024 under an eight-year contract, now valued at an average of $115 million per-season, and granting ESPN additional rights to sell sponsorships for its tournament broadcasts.[18]

Original 2021 NCAA tournament schedule and venues

The tournament's first two rounds were originally scheduled to be hosted by the top sixteen seeds. The following were the sites initially selected to host the later rounds of the 2021 tournament:[19] [20] [21]

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) (March 26–29)

National semifinals and championship (final Four and championship) (April 2 and 4)

This is the third time that the women's Final Four was played in San Antonio, having previously been played in the city in 2002 and 2010.

Qualification and selection

Automatic qualifiers

The following teams automatically qualified for the 2021 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.

ConferenceTeamRecordAppearanceLast bid
ACCNC State20–226th2019
America EastStony Brook15–51stNever
AmericanSouth Florida18–37th2018
ASUNFlorida Gulf Coast26–27th2019
Atlantic 10VCU16–102nd2009
Big 12Baylor25–219th2019
Big EastUConn24–1 32nd2019
Big Sky22–34th2012
Big South22–61stNever
Big TenMaryland24–228th2019
Big West13–2 3rd2019
ColonialDrexel14–82nd2009
C-USAMiddle Tennessee17–719th2016
Horizon18–73rd 2019
Ivy LeagueIvy League season canceled
MAAC18–311th2014
MAC18–86th2019
MEAC14–25th2018
Missouri Valley17–111stNever
Mountain WestWyoming14–92nd2008
Northeast17–63rd1995
Ohio Valley20–56th2019
Pac-12Stanford25–234th2019
Patriot10–54th2010
SECSouth Carolina22–417th2019
Southern19–63rd2019
Southland24–2 17th2006
SWAC18–55th2008
Summit League19–53rd2019
Sun BeltTroy22–54th2017
West CoastGonzaga23–312th2019
WAC13–61stNever

Tournament seeds

valign=top
Alamo regional – Alamodome,
San Antonio, Texas
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordNETBerth type
1StanfordPac-1225–21Automatic
2LouisvilleACC23–36At-Large
3GeorgiaSEC20–613At-Large
4ArkansasSEC19–817At-Large
5Missouri Valley21–220At-Large
6OregonPac-1213–810At-Large
7NorthwesternBig Ten15–831At-Large
8Oklahoma StateBig 1218–827At-Large
9Wake ForestACC12–1247At-Large
10American16–438At-Large
11South DakotaSummit19–532Automatic
12Big West13–271Automatic
13Horizon18–780Automatic
14DrexelColonial14–8106Automatic
15MAAC18–3103Automatic
16WAC13–6216Automatic
valign=top
HemisFair regional – Alamodome,
San Antonio, Texas
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordNETBerth type
1South CarolinaSEC22–44Automatic
2MarylandBig Ten24–25Automatic
3UCLAPac-1216–58At-Large
4West VirginiaBig 1221–624At-Large
5Georgia TechACC15–830At-Large
6TexasBig 1218–929At-Large
7AlabamaSEC16–933At-Large
8Oregon StatePac-1211–736At-Large
9Florida StateACC10–848At-Large
10North CarolinaACC13–1035At-Large
11Missouri Valley17–1179Automatic
12Southland24–219Automatic
13Patriot10–575Automatic
14WyomingMountain West14–999Automatic
15Northeast17–6114Automatic
16Southern19–6146Automatic
valign=top
Mercado regional – Alamodome,
San Antonio, Texas
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordNETBerth type
1NC StateACC20–27Automatic
2Texas A&MSEC23–211At-Large
3ArizonaPac-1216–515At-Large
4IndianaBig Ten18–59At-Large
5GonzagaWCC23–316Automatic
6RutgersBig Ten14–412At-Large
7Iowa StateBig 1216–1026At-Large
8South FloridaAmerican18–325Automatic
9Washington StatePac-1212–1145At-Large
10Michigan StateBig Ten15–840At-Large
11BYUWCC18–550At-Large
12Ohio Valley20–563Automatic
13VCUAtlantic 1016–10105Automatic
14Stony BrookAmerica East15–5100Automatic
15TroySun Belt22–5115Automatic
16MEAC14–2123Automatic
valign=top
River Walk regional – Alamodome,
San Antonio, Texas
SeedSchoolConferenceRecordNETBerth type
1UConnBig East24–12Automatic
2BaylorBig 1225–23Automatic
3TennesseeSEC16–714At-Large
4KentuckySEC17–818At-Large
5IowaBig Ten18–923At-Large
6MichiganBig Ten14–522At-Large
7Virginia TechACC14–928At-Large
8SyracuseACC14–843At-Large
9South Dakota StateSummit21–346At-Large
10Big East19–634At-Large
11Florida Gulf CoastASUN26–241Automatic
12MAC18–890Automatic
13Big Sky22–384Automatic
14C-USA17–7107Automatic
15SWAC18–5111Automatic
16Big South22–6180Automatic

Tournament records

Bracket

All times are listed as Central Daylight Time (UTC−5)
* – Denotes overtime period

Alamo regional – San Antonio, Texas

* – Denotes overtime period

Alamo regional final

HemisFair regional – San Antonio, Texas

* – Denotes overtime period

HemisFair regional final

Mercado regional – San Antonio, Texas

* – Denotes overtime period

Mercado regional final

River Walk regional – San Antonio, Texas

* – Denotes overtime period

River Walk regional final

Final Four

During the Final Four round, Stanford, the winner of the Alamo Regional defeated South Carolina, the winner of the HemisFair Regional. Arizona, the winner of the Mercado Regional defeated UConn, the winner of the River Walk Regional. In the championship game, Stanford defeated Arizona by a score of 54–53 to take the 2021 title.

Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas

National championship

See main article: article.

Final Four all-tournament team

Record by conference

ConferenceBidsRecordWin %R64R32S16E8F4CGNC
Pac-12615–56532221
Big East24–221111
SEC710–776211
ACC89–88531
Big 1259–55522
Big Ten710–77541
Missouri Valley22–2211
WCC21–221
American21–221
Horizon11–111
Ohio Valley11–111
Summit20–22
MAC10–11
Southland10–11
C-USA10–11
SWAC10–11
MEAC10–11
Atlantic 1010–11
Mountain West10–11
America East10–11
Atlantic Sun10–11
Big Sky10–11
Big South10–11
Big West10–11
Colonial10–11
MAAC10–11
Patriot10–11
Southern10–11
WAC10–11
Sun Belt10–11
Northeast10–11

Media coverage

Television

ESPN served as broadcaster of the tournament, as part of its multi-year deal to broadcast NCAA national championships. Following a similar broadcast arrangement to the men's tournament under the CBS/Turner consortium, ESPN announced that all games in the tournament would be televised nationally in their entirety by either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, or, for the first time, ABC (marking the first women's tournament to include coverage on broadcast television since 1995), rather than use a mix of regional broadcasts, streaming, and "whiparound" feeds.[25]

Kerry Callahan became the first woman to serve as producer for ESPN's coverage of the Women's Final Four.[26]

Studio host and analysts

Broadcast assignments

First and Second rounds

Regionals

Final Four

Radio

Westwood One has exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.[27] [28] Teams participating in the Elite Eight, Final Four, and Championship were allowed to have their own local broadcasts, but they were not allowed to stream those broadcasts online.

Regional finals

Final Four and Championship

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2020-11-13. What the Ivy League's canceling its seasons means for college basketball, other sports. 2021-04-09. ESPN.com. en.
  2. News: Voepel. Mechelle. May 4, 2020. Women's Div. I hoop switching from RPI to NET to assess teams. ESPN.com. May 6, 2020.
  3. Web site: Voepel. Mechelle. February 5, 2021. Entire NCAA women's basketball tournament to be held in San Antonio area. February 5, 2021. ESPN.
  4. Web site: San Antonio region to host 2021 Division I Women's Basketball Championship NCAA.com. 2021-02-23. www.ncaa.com. en.
  5. Web site: UConn, Stanford, Texas A&M, South Carolina top four in early peek at NCAA women's basketball tournament seeding . Voepel . Mechelle . February 28, 2021 . ESPN . February 28, 2021.
  6. Web site: Nixon. Rick. NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship to allow limited fan attendance. 2021-02-19. NCAA.org. February 19, 2021 .
  7. Web site: 2021-04-03. 'Is that the best we can do?' Inside an overdue reckoning in NCAA basketball. 2021-04-08. ESPN.com. en.
  8. Web site: 2021-03-25. NCAA hires firm for review after tourney issues. 2021-04-08. ESPN.com. en.
  9. Web site: 2021-03-18. NCAA admits women's tourney facilities lacking. 2021-04-08. ESPN.com. en.
  10. Web site: Brown. PJ. NCAA Tournament notebook: Adia Barnes 'embarrassed' by weight-room inequalities between men, women. live. 2021-04-08. Arizona Daily Star. March 19, 2021 . en. https://web.archive.org/web/20210321231213/https://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/basketball/ncaa-tournament-notebook-adia-barnes-embarrassed-by-weight-room-inequalities-between-men-women/article_aa5e5f78-9a6e-560c-9267-82890d81775f.html . 2021-03-21 .
  11. Web site: 2021-03-22. Emmert vows review of NCAA facility 'blunders'. 2021-04-08. ESPN.com. en.
  12. Web site: NCAA: March Madness branding will be used for women's tournament. 2021-09-30. sports.yahoo.com. en-US. 2021-09-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20210930045831/https://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa-march-madness-branding-used-153833411.html. dead.
  13. Web site: Novy-Williams. Emily Caron,Eben. 2021-04-04. March Madness Daily: The NCAA's Undervalued Women's TV Rights. 2021-04-06. Sportico.com. en-US.
  14. Web site: Huchthausen. Amy. 2021-04-02. NCAA's Weighty Gender Inequities Hurt College Sports' Bottom Line. 2021-04-10. Sportico.com. en-US.
  15. News: August 3, 2021. Long-awaited NCAA gender equity review recommends combined Final Four for men's, women's basketball at same site. ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 7, 2021.
  16. Web site: August 2, 2021. NCAA External Gender Equity Review — Phase I: Basketball Championships. Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP. August 11, 2021.
  17. Expansion of 2022 DI women's basketball tournament to 68 teams approved. NCAA. November 17, 2021. November 17, 2021.
  18. Web site: 2024-01-04 . NCAA inks landmark media deal with ESPN for coverage of 40 championships domestically . 2024-01-07 . Sports Business Journal . en.
  19. News: Women's regional sites announced for '21-22. ESPN.com. 2018-10-02. en.
  20. News: 4 cities chosen as future NCAA Women's Final Four hosts. 2018-09-24. NCAA.org - The Official Site of the NCAA. 2018-10-02. en.
  21. Web site: Regional sites named for 2021 and 2022 DI women's basketball championship . Nixon . Rick . March 27, 2019 . NCAA . February 5, 2021.
  22. Web site: Nixon . Rick . 2023 Women's Final Four Championship Record Book . 26 March 2023 . NCAA . 85.
  23. Web site: Nixon . Rick . 2023 Women's Final Four Championship Record Book . 26 March 2023 . NCAA . 85.
  24. Web site: Stanford's Haley Jones named MOP of 2021 NCAA Tournament. 4 April 2021.
  25. Web site: 2021-03-16. 2021 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Gymnastics Championships to Make Broadcast Debut on ABC. 2021-04-06. ESPN Press Room U.S.. en-US.
  26. Web site: Digital. Brandon Costa, Director of. NCAA Women's Final Four: RailCam, Aerial SupraCam Add Glitz to Star-Powered Weekend in San Antonio. 2021-04-06. Sports Video Group. 2 April 2021. en.
  27. Web site: NCAA, Westwood One extend deal. NCAA. May 12, 2013. January 13, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20130516174340/http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/2011-01-13/ncaa-westwood-one-extend-deal. 2013-05-16. dead.
  28. Web site: WO Sports to Air NCAA Women's Basketball. Radio Online. March 6, 2015. March 6, 2015.