MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A year after blatant inequality in the NCAA women’s tournament was revealed and less than two weeks after the sharp congressional complaint, NCAA President Mark Emmert said Wednesday he was pleased with the institution’s progress, though he said there had only been “preliminary discussions. “”about distributing tournament winnings to women’s programs.
Emmert said the upcoming situations for women’s basketball include negotiating a new television contract for the women’s tournament and potentially a profit-sharing protocol similar to that of the men’s event.
Emmert was careful not to ask for quick adjustments before discussions from many NCAA member schools, and declined to offer his own views.
“It’s up to the schools and what they need to do about it,” she said at the Women’s Final Four site in Minneapolis. “It’s a confusing date because the championships on the men’s side, the relative weight of advancing in the tournament has been reduced over time. Those members who think there shouldn’t be as much emphasis on winning the tournament.
Sending money to women’s formulas is all coaches ask for. Men’s meetings get thousands of dollars consistent with a tournament game involving one of their teams, money they then redistribute to schools. Such a formula exists on the side of women.
Emmert said adopting such a payment design will be a panacea and will require approval from several NCAA committees.
“There are only initial discussions about it,” he said. I hope those are decisions that can be made in the next calendar year, for example. Be good.
Emmert said that would mean it could be implemented immediately.
“There is no explanation as to why they cannot start this debate and discussion,” he said. “But it’s a very complicated debate between schools. Once you start talking about how you’re going to allocate resources, it becomes difficult. “
It’s to pay men because of the NCAA’s deal with CBS and Turner. The initial contract averaged $770 million consistent with the year, with an extension in 2016 that raised that annual average to $1. 1 billion in 2025.
The women’s tournament is already included with other women’s television rights championships. The current contract with ESPN ends in 2024. ESPN offers the game of this tournament in its own window on one of its channels, with 4 games on ABC for a moment consecutive year.
“All school athletes have an obvious interest in maximizing the profits they can generate from media contracts, while also realizing that you need to balance that by making sure you get the right coverage,” Emmert said. “So it’s not just about money, of course. “
A law firm hired to read about gender equality issues at NCAA championships highlighted the differences between men’s and women’s events in a dazzling report last summer. flagrant inequalities.
Three congressional lawmakers sent a letter to Emmert this month accusing the organization of making “insufficient progress” in the fight against the “historically disparate” remedy of male and female athletes.
Emmert and NCAA Vice President of Women’s Basketball Lynn Holzman highlighted this year’s positive adjustments and added the use of the word “March Madness” for the women’s tournament and the expansion of the draw to 68 to suit men.
“By participating in the rounds leading up to the Women’s Final Four, we set records with them,” Holzman said. on campus with our coaches, administration and, most importantly, our student-athletes. “
Emmert and Holzman said many of the tweaks adapted this year were more behind the scenes, focused on the brand and meaningful things for student-athletes.
“Many efforts are visible and, in fact, are necessarily aimed even at this specific year,” he said. “But making sure we have a sustainable, built-in style that ensures the kind of continuity of those championships going forward. “. “
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