2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season explained

Gender:	women
Year:	2024
Preseason Ap:	South Carolina
Regular Season:	November 4, 2024 – March 16, 2025
Tourney Start:	March 19
Nc Date:	April 6, 2025
Champ Stad:	Amalie Arena
Champ City:	Tampa, Florida

The 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season will begin on November 4, 2024. The regular season will end on March 16, 2025, with the 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament beginning with the first four on March 19 and ending with championship game at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on April 6.

Rule changes

On May 2, 2024, the NCAA Basketball Rules Committee proposed a few rule changes for the 2024–25 season. These changes were approved on June 6 by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel.^{[1] [2]}

• A one-game suspension has been added to the ejection of any player, coach, or bench personnel who "disrespectfully contacts an official or makes a threat of physical intimidation or harm, to include pushing, shoving, spitting or attempting to make physical contact with an official".
• Officials will be able to review whether a player's foot last touching the court was inbounds on a made shot before time expired. If a player's foot is determined to be out of bounds, officials would put the exact time of the violation on the game clock. However, if the shot is made and time remains on the game clock, a video review would not occur.
• Officials will now immediately conduct a replay review to judge whether a basket should count or not if an off-ball foul is called near the time a field goal or free-throw attempt is occurring. Previously, these reviews were conducted during the next electronic-media timeout.

Season headlines

• May 29, 2024 – Stephen F. Austin announced it would leave the Western Athletic Conference on July 1 to rejoin the Southland Conference after a three-year absence.^[3]
• July 1 – IUPUI's athletic teams renamed to Indiana University Indianapolis (IU Indy) after the Indiana and Purdue university systems split the university into IU Indianapolis and Purdue University in Indianapolis.^[4]
• September 12 – The Pac-12 Conference, which had been reduced to 2 members after its remaining 10 schools left for other power conferences, began a rebuilding process by announcing that Mountain West Conference members Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State would join the Pac-12 in 2026–27.^[5]
• September 24 – The Pac-12 Conference's rebuilding continued as Utah State would join the other Mountain West defectors in 2026–27.^[6]
• September 30 – Gonzaga announced it would leave the West Coast Conference to join the Pac-12 Conference for all sports except for football in 2026–27.^[7]
• October 1 – UTEP announced it would join the Mountain West from Conference USA in 2026–27.^[8]
• October 9:^[9]
  • The NCAA Division I Council approved a proposal that reduced the duration of the transfer portal to 30 days. Going forward, the window opens on the day after the completion of the second round of the Division I women's tournament.
  • The Council also abolished the National Letter of Intent program effective immediately. Written offers of athletics aid will replace the NLI.
  • The Council introduced a proposal that would shorten the transition periods for schools wishing to reclassify from Division II or Division III to Division I. If approved at the Council's January 2025 meeting, the transition periods for D-II and D-III schools would drop by a year, respectively to three and four years.
• October 15 – The Mountain West announced that Hawaiʻi, which has been a football-only member of that conference since 2012, would leave the Big West Conference in 2026 to become a full MW member.^[10]
• November 1 – The Mountain West announced that Grand Canyon would join the conference no later than 2026 for all sports except for football.^[11] Grand Canyon's official announcement stated that it would not compete in the West Coast Conference, which it had previously been scheduled to join in July 2025, and that if MW bylaws allowed, it would join that conference in 2025.^[12]
• November 7 – The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved the name change of the former Texas A&M University–Commerce to East Texas A&M University.^[13]

Milestones and records

• November 15 – UConn head coach Geno Auriemma drew even with recently retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer as the winningest head coach in NCAA basketball history across all divisions, earning his 1,216th win with the Huskies' 69–58 win over North Carolina.^[14]
• November 20 – Auriemma took sole possession of the career wins record with UConn's 85–41 rout of Fairleigh Dickinson.^[15]

Conference membership changes

A total of 23 schools joined new conferences for the 2024–25 season. Of these, 20 moved within Division I, two began reclassification from NCAA Division II, and Chicago State ended its two-year stint as an all-sports independent to join the Northeast Conference.

School	Former conference	New Conference
Arizona	Pac-12	Big 12
Arizona State	Pac-12	Big 12
California	Pac-12	ACC
Chicago State	Independent	NEC
Colorado	Pac-12	Big 12
Kennesaw State	ASUN	CUSA
Mercyhurst	PSAC (D-II)	NEC
Merrimack	NEC	MAAC
Oklahoma	Big 12	SEC
Oregon	Pac-12	Big Ten
Oregon State	Pac-12	WCC
Sacred Heart	NEC	MAAC
SMU	AAC	ACC
Stanford	Pac-12	ACC
Stephen F. Austin	WAC	Southland
Texas	Big 12	SEC
UCLA	Pac-12	Big Ten
USC	Pac-12	Big Ten
Utah	Pac-12	Big 12
UTRGV	WAC	Southland
Washington	Pac-12	Big Ten
Washington State	Pac-12	WCC
West Georgia	Gulf South (D–II)	ASUN

The 2024–25 will be the last season in their respective conferences for at least five Division I schools.

School	2024–25 conference	Future conference
Delaware	CAA	CUSA
UMass	Atlantic 10	MAC
		CUSA
	WAC	WCC

Arenas

New arenas

• Georgia Southern will leave the Hanner Fieldhouse after 55 seasons there for the new Jack and Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center. The team will play its first game in the Hill Convocation Center in November 2024.^[16]
• St. Thomas will play their final season at Schoenecker Arena, where they have played since 1981, before moving to the new Lee and Penny Anderson Arena, which will open in the 2025–26 season.^[17]
• Vermont was originally slated to open their new arena, Tarrant Event Center, as a replacement for the current arena, Patrick Gym. Construction was to continue in 2021 but it has been delayed indefinitely.^[18]

Arena of new D-I teams

• West Georgia will transition from Division II to Division I and play at the Coliseum in Carrollton, Georgia, where it has played since 2009. It will be ineligible for NCAA-organized postseason play (i.e., the NCAA tournament or NIT) in 2029.
• Mercyhurst will transition from Division II to Division I and play at the Owen McCormick Court in Erie, Pennsylvania (formerly Mercyhurst Athletic Center but renovated in 2021), where it has played since 1977. It will be ineligible for NCAA-organized postseason play for 2029.

Other arena changes

• Bellarmine announced on August 28, 2024 that home games would return to campus at Knights Hall for the first time since 2019–20. The Knights had played in the interim at Freedom Hall on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center.^[19]

Seasonal outlook

See main article: 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings. The Top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaching Polls.

Pre-season polls

AP Ranking Team 1 South Carolina (27) 2 UConn (2) 3 USC (1) 4 Texas 5 UCLA 6 Notre Dame 7 LSU 8 Iowa State 9 NC State 10 Oklahoma 11 Duke 12 Baylor 13 Kansas State 14 Ohio State 15 North Carolina 16 West Virginia 17 Louisville 18 Maryland 19 Florida State 20 Ole Miss 21 Creighton 22 Kentucky 23 Nebraska 24 Alabama 25 Indiana

USA Today Coaches Ranking Team 1 South Carolina (27) 2 UConn (3) 3 USC (1) 4 Texas 5 Notre Dame 6 UCLA 7 LSU 8 NC State 9 Iowa State 10 Oklahoma 11 Duke 12 Baylor 13 Kansas State 14 Ohio State 15 West Virginia 16 North Carolina 17 Louisville 18 Maryland 19 Florida State 20 Creighton 21 Ole Miss 22 Kentucky 23 Nebraska 24 Alabama 25 Indiana

Final polls

AP Ranking Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

USA Today Coaches Ranking Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Top 10 matchups

Rankings reflect the AP poll Top 25.

Regular season

• Nov. 10, 2024
  • No. 1 South Carolina defeated No. 9 NC State, 71–57 (Ally Tipoff – Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC)
• Nov. 23
  • No. 6 Notre Dame defeated No. 3 USC, 74–61 (Galen Center, Los Angeles, CA)
• Nov. 24
  • No. 5 UCLA defeated No. 1 South Carolina, 77–62 (Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA)
• Dec. 5
  • No. 4 Texas at No. 10 Notre Dame (ACC–SEC Challenge – Joyce Center, South Bend, IN)
  • No. 8 Duke at No. 3 South Carolina (ACC–SEC Challenge – Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, SC)
• Dec. 8
  • No. 3 South Carolina vs. No. 9 TCU (Coast-to-Coast Challenge – Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TX)

Postseason

Regular season

Early season tournaments

Tournament/event name	Dates	Location	No. Teams	Champions	class=unsortable	Notes
Great Alaska Shootout	November 22–23, 2024		4	Troy
Battle 4 Atlantis	November 23–25, 2024		8	North Carolina
Emerald Coast Classic	November 25–26, 2024		8	Alabama (Bay) Creighton (Beach)
Baha Mar Women's Championship	November 25–27, 2024		4	UConn
Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship	November 25–27, 2024		4	LSU
Ball Dawgs Classic	November 25–27, 2024		4	Duke
Acrisure Holiday Invitational	November 26–27, 2024		4	Michigan State
Colgate Thanksgiving Tournament	November 29–30, 2024		4	Colgate
Fort Myers Tip-Off Shell Division	November 29–30, 2024		4	Michigan
FIU Tournament	November 29–December 1, 2024		4	Abilene Christian
Gulf Coast Showcase	November 29–December 1, 2024		8	Texas
Miami Thanksgiving Tournament	November 29–December 1, 2024		4	Miami (FL)
Lehigh Christmas City Classic	November 30–December 1, 2024		4	Lehigh
Tulane Holiday Tournament	December 20–21, 2024		4
Hawk Classic	December 20–21, 2024		4
Raising the Bar Classic	December 21–22, 2024		4

Head-to-head conference challenges

Conference Match Up	Dates	Conference Winner	Conference Loser	Record
ACC–SEC Challenge	December 4−5
Big Sky–Summit Challenge	December 4−7
Conference USA–WAC Challenge	November 4−December 17
MAC–SBC Challenge	November 4−February 8

Upsets

An upset is a victory by an underdog team. In the context of NCAA Division I women's basketball, this generally constitutes an unranked team defeating a team currently ranked in the top 25. This list will highlight those upsets of ranked teams by unranked teams as well as upsets of No. 1 teams. Rankings are from the AP poll. Bold type indicates winning teams in "true road games"—i.e., those played on an opponent's home court (including secondary homes). Italics type indicates winning teams in an early-season tournament (or event). Early-season tournaments are tournaments played in the early season. Events are the tournaments with the same teams in it every year (even rivalry games).

Winner	Score	Loser	Date	Tournamnet/Event	Notes
Illinois	83–74	No. 19 Florida State	November 7, 2024
Harvard	72–68^OT	No. 25 Indiana
South Dakota State	83–74	No. 21 Creighton	November 8, 2024
Oregon	76–74	No. 12 Baylor	November 10, 2024
Indiana	79–66	No. 24 Stanford	November 17, 2024
TCU	76–73	No. 13 NC State
Northern Iowa	87–75	No. 8 Iowa State	November 20, 2024		Northern Iowa's first ever win over a top-10 opponent
Creighton	80–74	No. 21 Nebraska		Rivalry
Indiana	73–65	No. 18 Baylor	November 24, 2024	Battle 4 Atlantis
No. 5 UCLA	77–62	No. 1 South Carolina			South Carolina's 43-game winning streak snapped
Georgia Tech	74–58	No. 21 Oregon	November 25, 2024	Hawaii North Shore Showcase	Game played in Lāʻie, Hawaii
South Dakota State	75–70		November 26, 2024
Utah	78–67	No. 3 Notre Dame	November 30, 2024	Cayman Islands Classic

In addition to the above listed upsets in which an unranked team defeated a ranked team, there have been five non-Division I teams to defeat a Division I team so far this season. Bold type indicates winning teams in "true road games"—i.e., those played on an opponent's home court (including secondary homes).

Winner	Score	Loser	Date	Tournament/event	class=unsortable	Notes
Bethel (TN)	64–52^[20]	Austin Peay	November 4, 2024		Back-to-back season opening losses against non-Division I teams
UMSL	60–52^[21]	SIU Edwardsville
Adelphi	58–50^[22]	Fordham
	58–50^[23]	Denver
Alaska Anchorage	68–52^[24]	Vermont	November 23, 2024	Great Alaska Shootout third place game
Findlay	65–64^[25]	Wright State	November 26, 2024

Conference winners and tournaments

Each of the 31 Division I athletic conferences will end its regular season with a single-elimination tournament. The team with the best regular-season record in each conference receives the number one seed in each tournament, with tiebreakers used as needed in the case of ties for the top seeding. Unless otherwise noted, the winners of these tournaments will receive automatic invitations to the 2025 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

Conference	Regular season first place	Conference player of the year	Conference Coach of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (city)	Tournament winner
America East Conference				2025 America East women's basketball tournament	Campus sites
American Athletic Conference				2025 American Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament	Dickies Arena (Fort Worth, TX)
Atlantic Sun Conference				2025 Atlantic Sun women's basketball tournament	Campus sites
Atlantic 10 Conference				2025 Atlantic 10 Conference women's basketball tournament	Henrico Sports & Events Center (Henrico, VA)
Atlantic Coast Conference				2025 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, NC)
Big 12 Conference				2025 Big 12 Conference women's basketball tournament	T-Mobile Center (Kansas City, MO)
Big East Conference				2025 Big East Conference women's basketball tournament	Mohegan Sun Arena (Uncasville, CT)
Big Sky Conference				2025 Big Sky Conference women's basketball tournament	Idaho Central Arena (Boise, ID)
Big South Conference				2025 Big South Conference women's basketball tournament	Freedom Hall Civic Center (Johnson City, TN)
Big Ten Conference				2025 Big Ten Conference women's basketball tournament	Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis, IN)
Big West Conference				2025 Big West Conference women's basketball tournament	Dollar Loan Center (Henderson, NV)
Coastal Athletic Association				2025 Coastal Athletic Association women's basketball tournament	Entertainment and Sports Arena (Washington, DC)
Conference USA				2025 Conference USA women's basketball tournament	Propst Arena (Huntsville, AL)
Horizon League				2025 Horizon League women's basketball tournament	Quarterfinals: Campus sites Semifinals and final: Indiana Farmers Coliseum (Indianapolis, IN)
Ivy League				2025 Ivy League women's basketball tournament	Pizzitola Sports Center (Providence, RI)
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference				2025 MAAC women's basketball tournament	Boardwalk Hall (Atlantic City, NJ)
Mid-American Conference				2025 Mid-American Conference women's basketball tournament	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (Cleveland, OH)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference				2025 MEAC women's basketball tournament	Norfolk Scope (Norfolk, VA)
Missouri Valley Conference				2025 Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament	Ford Center (Evansville, IN)
Mountain West Conference				2025 Mountain West Conference women's basketball tournament	Thomas and Mack Center (Paradise, NV)
Northeast Conference				2025 Northeast Conference women's basketball tournament	Campus sites
Ohio Valley Conference				2025 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball tournament	Ford Center (Evansville, IN)
Patriot League				2025 Patriot League women's basketball tournament	Campus sites
Southeastern Conference				2025 Southeastern Conference women's basketball tournament	Bon Secours Wellness Arena (Greenville, SC)
Southern Conference				2025 Southern Conference women's basketball tournament	Harrah's Cherokee Center (Asheville, NC)
Southland Conference				2025 Southland Conference women's basketball tournament	The Legacy Center (Lake Charles, LA)
Southwestern Athletic Conference				2025 SWAC women's basketball tournament	Bartow Arena (Birmingham, AL)
Summit League				2025 Summit League women's basketball tournament	Denny Sanford Premier Center (Sioux Falls, SD)
Sun Belt Conference				2025 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball tournament	Pensacola Bay Center (Pensacola, FL)
West Coast Conference				2025 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament	Orleans Arena (Paradise, NV)
Western Athletic Conference				2025 WAC women's basketball tournament

Tournament upsets

Per the NCAA, an upset occurs "when the losing team in an NCAA Tournament game was seeded at least two seed lines better than the winning team.

Round!scope="col"

TBD (#1)	TBD (#2)	TBD (#3)	TBD (#4)
Round of 64	None	None	None	None
Round of 32	None	None	None	None
Sweet 16	None	None	None	None
Elite 8	None	None	None	None
Final 4	None
National Championship	None

Award winners

2025 Consensus All-Americans

Coaching changes

Many teams will change coaches during the season and after it ends.

Team	Former	Interim	New	Reason
Florida Gulf Coast	Karl Smesko		Chelsea Lyles	Smesko, who had been FGCU's head coach since the program began in 2002, announced his departure on November 13, 2024 to become head coach for the WNBA's Atlanta Dream. Eagles associate head coach Lyles, who played for Smesko from 2008–2010 and has been on the coaching staff since 2011, was promoted to the position the same day.^[26]
Holy Cross	Maureen Magarity	Candice Green		Magarity, citing family reasons, announced her resignation from Holy Cross on August 20, 2024 after 4 seasons. Crusaders assistant coach Green was named interim head coach for the season.^[27]
Santa Clara	Bill Carr	Michael Floyd		Carr announced his resignation from Santa Clara on October 12, 2024 after 8 seasons. Broncos associate head coach Floyd was tabbed as the interim head coach for the season.^[28]
Utah	Lynne Roberts		Gavin Petersen	Roberts left Utah on November 19, 2024 after four games in her 10th season to become the new head coach of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. Utes associate head coach Petersen was named as Roberts' replacement that same day.^[29]

See also

• 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

Notes and References

1. 1-game suspension proposed for physical abuse, threats against women’s basketball officials . 5 November 2024 . NCAA . May 2, 2024.
2. News: 1-game suspension approved for physical abuse, threats against women’s basketball officials . 5 November 2024 . NCAA . June 6, 2024.
3. SFA Athletics Accepts Invitation to Join Southland Conference in 2024-25 . Southland Conference . May 29, 2024 . May 29, 2024.
4. News: 'A no-brainer.' New IU Indy basketball coach Paul Corsaro will 'start in our backyard.' . Neddenreip . Kyle . Indianapolis Star . April 1, 2024 . June 7, 2024.
5. Ushering in a new era, the Pac-12 Conference strengthens its legacy by welcoming four respected academic and athletic universities . Pac-12 Conference . September 12, 2024 . September 14, 2024.
6. Pac-12 Conference and Utah State University Unite to Advance the New Era of the 100-Year-Old Legacy . Pac-12 Conference . September 24, 2024 . September 25, 2024.
7. Pac-12 Conference and Gonzaga University Unite to Build a Basketball Powerhouse, Advancing the New Era of the Conference's 100-Year Legacy . Pac-12 Conference . September 30, 2024 . October 1, 2024.
8. Mountain West Welcomes UTEP Into The Conference . October 1, 2024 . October 1, 2024.
9. DI Council approves changes to notification-of-transfer windows in basketball, football . NCAA . October 9, 2024 . October 9, 2024.
10. Mountain West Officially Welcomes Hawaiʻi as a Full-Time Member . Mountain West Conference . October 15, 2024 . October 15, 2024.
11. Mountain West Officially Welcomes Grand Canyon University . Mountain West Conference . November 1, 2024 . November 1, 2024.
12. GCU accepts invite to Mountain West Conference . Grand Canyon Antelopes . November 1, 2024 . November 1, 2024 . In joining the Mountain West Conference, GCU has formally declined an invitation from the West Coast Conference that would have seen the Lopes become WCC members on July 1, 2025..
13. Texas A&M University System Board of Regents Approves Name Change for Texas A&M University-Commerce . East Texas A&M University . November 7, 2024 . November 9, 2024.
14. News: Bueckers scores 29, Auriemma ties Division I coaching record as No. 2 UConn beats No. 14 UNC 69-58 . Aaron . Beard . Associated Press . November 15, 2024 . November 16, 2024.
15. News: UConn's Geno Auriemma becomes NCAA all-time basketball wins leader . Alexa . Philippou . ESPN.com . November 20, 2024 . November 20, 2024.
16. Web site: Ryans . Joshua . November 8, 2023 . Convocation Center Will Soon Be Home For Men's And Women's Basketball Teams . November 8, 2023 . TheGeorgeanne.com.
17. Web site: November 5, 2023 . Neighborhood Group Court For Environmental Review Of New St. Thomas Arena . November 5, 2023 . MPRNews.org.
18. Web site: September 28, 2022 . UVM Sports Complex Arena Still On Hold Wellness Center Open . September 28, 2022 . WCAX.com.
19. NCAA basketball returns to Knights Hall as Bellarmine celebrates full Division I membership after successful reclassification process . Bellarmine Knights . August 28, 2024 . August 28, 2024.
20. Web site: Bethel (TN) vs. Austin Peay - Women's College Basketball Game Summary - November 4, 2024 . November 4, 2024 . ESPN . en .
21. Web site: UMSL vs. SIU Edwardsville - Women's College Basketball Game Summary - November 4, 2024 . November 4, 2024 . ESPN . en .
22. Web site: Adelphi vs. Fordham - Women's College Basketball Game Summary - November 4, 2024 . November 4, 2024 . ESPN . en .
23. Web site: Colorado Christian vs. Denver - Women's College Basketball Game Summary - November 4, 2024 . November 4, 2024 . ESPN . en .
24. Web site: Alaska Anchorage vs. Vermont - Women's College Basketball Game Summary - November 23, 2024 . November 24, 2024 . ESPN . en .
25. Web site: Findlay vs. Wright State - Women's College Basketball Game Summary - November 26, 2024 . November 27, 2024 . ESPN . en .
26. Karl Smesko steps down as women's basketball head coach. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. Jason. Hayes. November 13, 2024. November 13, 2024.
27. Magarity steps down as Holy Cross women’s basketball head coach, Green tabbed as interim for 2024-25 campaign. Holy Cross Crusaders. August 20, 2024. October 2, 2024.
28. Bill Carr Stepping Down As Santa Clara Women's Basketball Head Coach. Santa Clara Broncos. October 12, 2024. October 14, 2024.
29. Roberts Accepts Head Coach Position with WNBA’s L.A. Sparks; Petersen Named New Utes Head Coach . Utah Utes . November 19, 2024 . November 19, 2024.