| Gender: | Women's |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Teams: | 68 |
| Finalfourarena: | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse |
| Finalfourcity: | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Champions: | South Carolina Gamecocks |
| Titlecount: | 3rd |
| Champgamecount: | 3rd |
| Champffcount: | 6th |
| Runnerup: | Iowa Hawkeyes |
| Gamecount: | 2nd |
| Runnerffcount: | 3rd |
| Semifinal1: | NC State Wolfpack |
| Finalfourcount: | 2nd |
| Semifinal2: | UConn Huskies |
| Finalfourcount2: | 23rd |
| Coach: | Dawn Staley |
| Coachcount: | 3rd |
| Mop: | Kamilla Cardoso |
| Mopteam: | South Carolina |
The 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a 68-team single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 42nd edition of the tournament began on March 20, 2024, and concluded with the championship game on April 7, 2024 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
Big South champion Presbyterian, Southland champion Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, WAC champion California Baptist and at-large bid Columbia all made their NCAA tournament debuts. Additionally, Big Sky champion Eastern Washington made its second-ever appearance and first since 1987, Big West champion UC Irvine made its first appearance since 1995 and Sun Belt champion Marshall made its first appearance since 1997. In the championship game, Iowa returned for their second straight appearance while South Carolina entered their third championship game in seven years and became the tenth team in Division I women's tournament history to finish an undefeated season at 38–0.
This was the first time where the top #1 seed won both the Men's & Women's NCAA Tournament since 2012.
A total of 68 teams participated in the 2024 tournament, consisting of the 32 conference champions, and 36 "at-large" bids that were determined by the NCAA Selection Committee. The last four at-large teams and teams seeded 65 through 68 overall competed in First Four games, whose winners advanced to the 64-team first round.[1]
The first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals, will be played at the sites of the top 16 seeds.
First Four
Subregionals (First and Second Rounds)
Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship)
Cleveland is hosting the women's Final Four for the second time; the first was in 2007.[2]
The following teams automatically qualified for the 2024 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.
| Conference | Team | Record | Appearance | Last bid | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| America East | Maine | 24–9 | 10th | 2019 | |
| American | Rice | 19–14 | 4th | 2019 | |
| Atlantic 10 | Richmond | 29–5 | 4th | 2005 | |
| ACC | Notre Dame | 26–6 | 29th | 2023 | |
| ASUN | Florida Gulf Coast | 29–4 | 10th | 2023 | |
| Big 12 | Texas | 30–4 | 36th | 2023 | |
| Big East | UConn | 29–5 | 35th | 2023 | |
| Big Sky | Eastern Washington | 29–5 | 2nd | 1987 | |
| Big South | Presbyterian | 20–14 | 1st | ||
| Big Ten | Iowa | 29–4 | 30th | 2023 | |
| Big West | UC Irvine | 23–8 | 2nd | 1995 | |
| CAA | Drexel | 19–14 | 3rd | 2021 | |
| CUSA | Middle Tennessee | 29–4 | 21st | 2023 | |
| Horizon | Green Bay | 27–6 | 19th | 2018 | |
| Ivy League | Princeton | 25–4 | 11th | 2023 | |
| MAAC | Fairfield | 31–1 | 6th | 2022 | |
| MAC | Kent State | 21–10 | 6th | 2002 | |
| MEAC | Norfolk State | 27–5 | 3rd | 2023 | |
| Missouri Valley | Drake | 29–5 | 15th | 2023 | |
| UNLV | 30–2 | 11th | 2023 | ||
| NEC | Sacred Heart | 24–9 | 5th | 2023 | |
| Ohio Valley | UT Martin | 16–16 | 5th | 2014 | |
| Pac-12 | USC | 26–5 | 18th | 2023 | |
| Patriot | Holy Cross | 20–12 | 14th | 2023 | |
| SEC | South Carolina | 32–0 | 20th | 2023 | |
| Southern | Chattanooga | 28–4 | 17th | 2023 | |
| Southland | 23–8 | 1st | |||
| SWAC | Jackson State | 26–6 | 7th | 2022 | |
| Summit | 27–5 | 12th | 2023 | ||
| Sun Belt | Marshall | 26–6 | 2nd | 1997 | |
| WCC | Portland | 21–12 | 6th | 2023 | |
| WAC | California Baptist | 28–3 | 1st | Never |
The sixty-eight teams came from thirty-four states.
| Bids | State(s) | Schools |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | California | California Baptist, Stanford, UC Irvine, UCLA, USC |
| Tennessee | Chattanooga, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, UT Martin, Vanderbilt | |
| Texas | Baylor, Rice, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | |
| 3 | Connecticut | Fairfield, Sacred Heart, UConn |
| Iowa | Drake, Iowa, Iowa State | |
| North Carolina | Duke, NC State, North Carolina | |
| Virginia | Norfolk State, Richmond, Virginia Tech | |
| 2 | Alabama | Alabama, Auburn |
| Florida | Florida Gulf Coast, Florida State | |
| Indiana | Indiana, Notre Dame | |
| Kansas | Kansas, Kansas State | |
| Michigan | Michigan, Michigan State | |
| Mississippi | Jackson State, Ole Miss | |
| Nebraska | Creighton, Nebraska | |
| New York | Columbia, Syracuse | |
| Ohio | Kent State, Ohio State | |
| Oregon | Oregon State, Portland | |
| South Carolina | Presbyterian, South Carolina | |
| Washington | Gonzaga, Eastern Washington | |
| West Virginia | Marshall, West Virginia | |
| Wisconsin | Green Bay, Marquette | |
| 1 | Arizona | Arizona |
| Colorado | Colorado | |
| Kentucky | Louisville | |
| Louisiana | LSU | |
| Maine | Maine | |
| Maryland | Maryland | |
| Massachusetts | Holy Cross | |
| Nevada | UNLV | |
| New Jersey | Princeton | |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma | |
| Pennsylvania | Drexel | |
| South Dakota | South Dakota State | |
| Utah | Utah | |
Thirty-two conferences earned an automatic bid. In nineteen cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-six additional at-large teams were selected from twelve of the conferences.
| Bids | Conference | Teams | |
| 8 | Atlantic Coast | ||
| 8 | Southeastern | ||
| 7 | Big 12 | ||
| 7 | Big Ten | ||
| 7 | Pac-12 | ||
| 3 | Big East | Creighton, Marquette, UConn | |
| 2 | Ivy | Columbia, Princeton | |
| 2 | West Coast | Gonzaga, Portland | |
| 1 | America East | Maine | |
| 1 | American | Rice | |
| 1 | Atlantic 10 | Richmond | |
| 1 | Atlantic Sun | Florida Gulf Coast | |
| 1 | Big Sky | Eastern Washington | |
| 1 | Big South | Presbyterian | |
| 1 | Big West | UC Irvine | |
| 1 | Coastal | Drexel | |
| 1 | Conference USA | Middle Tennessee | |
| 1 | Horizon | Green Bay | |
| 1 | Metro Atlantic | Fairfield | |
| 1 | Mid-American | Kent State | |
| 1 | Mid-Eastern | Norfolk State | |
| 1 | Missouri Valley | Drake | |
| 1 | Mountain West | UNLV | |
| 1 | Northeast | Sacred Heart | |
| 1 | Ohio Valley | UT Martin | |
| 1 | Patriot | Holy Cross | |
| 1 | Southern | Chattanooga | |
| 1 | Southland | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | |
| 1 | Southwestern | Jackson State | |
| 1 | Summit | South Dakota State | |
| 1 | Sun Belt | Marshall | |
| 1 | Western Athletic | California Baptist |
| valign=top |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| valign=top |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| valign=top |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| valign=top |
|
All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
The First Four games involve eight teams: the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams.
See main article: article and 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game.
| Conference | Bids | Record | Win % | FF | R64 | R32 | S16 | E8 | F4 | CG | NC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southeastern | 8 | 13–7 | .650 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Big Ten | 7 | 9–7 | .563 | – | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | |
| Big East | 3 | 5–3 | .625 | – | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | |
| Atlantic Coast | 8 | 11–8 | .579 | – | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | – | – | |
| Pac-12 | 7 | 14–7 | .667 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | |
| Big 12 | 7 | 10–7 | .588 | – | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | – | – | – | |
| West Coast | 2 | 2–2 | .500 | – | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | |
| CUSA | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Big South | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Patriot | 1 | 1–1 | .500 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| America East | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| American | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Atlantic 10 | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| ASUN | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Big Sky | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Big West | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| CAA | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Horizon | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Ivy League | 2 | 0–2 | .000 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| MAAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| MAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| MEAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Missouri Valley | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Mountain West | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Southern | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Southland | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| SWAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Summit | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Sun Belt | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| WAC | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Northeast | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| Ohio Valley | 1 | 0–1 | .000 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Per the NCAA, an upset occurs "when the losing team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least five seed lines better than the winning team."[3]
| Round | Albany | Portland | Albany | Portland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | None | None | No. 11 Middle Tennessee defeated No. 6 Louisville, 71–69 | None |
| Second round | None | None | None | No. 7 Duke defeated No. 2 Ohio State, 75–63 |
| Sweet 16 | None | None | None | None |
| Elite 8 | None | None | None | None |
| Final 4 | None | |||
| National championship | None |
The Albany 2 regional final between Iowa and LSU, a rematch of the previous year's national championship game drew the largest audience ever for a women's college basketball game as well as the most watched college basketball game in the 45-year history of ESPN.[4] The record would last only a few days, as Iowa's national semifinal match with Connecticut averaged the most viewers for a basketball game at any level on ESPN.[5] The Championship game again broke this record, with it becoming the most watched basketball game (including the NBA) since 2019 and the most watched basketball game to air outside of prime-time since the Fab Five played in the men's Final Four in 1992.
| Rank | Round | Date and Time (ET) | Matchup | Network | data-sort-type="number" | Viewers (millions) ! | data-sort-type="number" | TV rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Championship Game | April 7 3:00 p.m. | (A2-1)Iowa vs. (A1-1)South Carolina | ABC | 18.89[6] | 9.3 | ||
| 1 | Final Four | April 5 9:30 p.m. | (A2-1)Iowa vs. (P3-3)UConn | ESPN | 14.2 | |||
| 2 | Elite 8 | April 1 7:12 p.m. | (1)Iowa vs. (3)LSU (Albany 2) | 12.3[7] | ||||
| 3 | Final Four | April 5 7 p.m. | (A1-1)South Carolina vs. (P4-3)NC State | 7.1[8] | ||||
| 4 | Sweet 16 | March 30 3:50 p.m. | (1)Iowa vs. (5)Colorado (Albany 2) | ABC | 6.9[9] | 3.6 | ||
ESPN broadcast each game of the tournament across either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, or ABC. For the second consecutive season, the national championship game aired on ABC.[10] [11]
ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show broadcast live from Iowa City for the Iowa Hawkeyes' first-round game.[12] ESPN provided Megacast coverage during the Final Four and national championship games, with the Bird & Taurasi Show alternate broadcast with Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi returning on ESPN2 and ESPN during the Final Four and national championship respectively, and the "Beyond the Rim" (additional statistics) and rail cam feeds available on ESPN+.[13]
First Four[14]
First & second rounds Friday/Sunday (Subregionals)[14]
First & second rounds Saturday/Monday (Subregionals)[14]
Regionals (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)[15]
Final Four and National Championship[16]
Westwood One will serve as radio broadcaster of the tournament.
Regionals (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight)
Final Four and National Championship