As the Sweet 16 tips off Friday, the women’s NCAA Tournament will take place at two sites in different corners of the country separated by more than 2,000 miles for the third straight season.
Fans from across the nation have flocked to Birmingham, Ala., and Spokane, Wash., to watch teams compete in Friday and Saturday’s Sweet 16 and Sunday and Monday’s Elite Eight.
The super regional concept was developed in response to the declining attendance at tournament regional sites in the late 2010s, as the average crowd size fell below 5,000 in 2017. The NCAA felt a responsibility to make a change to increase attendance and boost ticket sales, and it found a potential solution by consolidating four sites to two, streamlining operations in the process.
The switch created its immediate desired results. The average attendance topped 10,000 in 2023, then a record-high, with a total of 85,000 fans. That average rose to more than 12,000 in 2024. The proof of women’s basketball’s growth continues to bear out with a variety of indicators.
The question now arises, three years into the system, if the tournament has already outgrown this format.
“There’s pros and cons, but the more I’m hearing from colleagues, I think people like the two sites less,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said.
Read more below.
Has women’s NCAA Tournament outgrown two-site regional format?
