The past five years have heralded an unprecedented jump in the popularity of women’s college basketball – and with it, awareness of its mistreatment compared to the men’s game.

From training facilities to transport to tournaments, the often-overlooked women’s teams received lower quality and starkly less funding. Even as improvements have been made, though, one financial hurdle remained: women’s teams made no money from tournament games.

To reframe, the 2024 women’s NCAA basketball championship game, boasting Caitlin Clark‘s Iowa Hawkeyes and Dawn Staley‘s undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, drew 18.7 million viewers (an 89% increase from 2023). The men’s championship, featuring a second consecutive UConn Huskies victory over the Purdue Boilermakers, drew about three million fewer viewers. And the women’s teams received a grand total of zero dollars for their participation.

Now, finally, that revenue will be evened.

NCAA membership followed the example of the Division I Board of Governors Wednesday, voting unanimously to approve a pay structure for women’s teams in March Madness. Starting this year, women’s teams will be awarded ‘performance units’ of revenue, totaling $15 million in 2025 and increasing to $25 million by 2028.

“The long awaited, hard fought for and well-earned day is here,” said North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart. “I am so grateful for the effort of so many to bring this reality to our sport. Women’s basketball is more popular than ever before, seats are filled, arenas are sold out and games are on national TV almost every night.”

Staley agreed, adding, “This continues our fight to lift women’s basketball to historic levels.”

Women’s basketball is currently valued at around $65 million per tournament, according to the NCAA’s new media rights deal – a jump of nearly ten times the previous deal.

While the women’s game still has a lot of ground to make up, its growth and increasing sophistication is undeniable. As college stars JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers continue to draw viewers to women’s basketball on that level, the WNBA has seen a massive jump in attention as well, highlighting stars Clark, A’ja Wilson, and Sabrina Ionescu, among others. This revenue-sharing agreement is just another step in the right direction, but it’s one that the players and league have thoroughly earned.

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Aaliyah Gayles, who has committed to play basketball at USC, was reportedly shot multiple times over the weekend at a house party in Las Vegas.

The 18-year-old Gayles, who was one of four people shot after a fight broke out at the party, had two emergency surgeries on Sunday.

“Aaliyah is one of the strongest, most resilient young people I have ever known,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “I have no doubt she will continue to face this unfathomable situation with courage and resolve. We will continue to support her and her parents in every way that we possibly can.”

The Connecticut women huskies basketball team is back in the Final Four for the 11th straight year.

UConn vs. South Carolina women’s basketball game score

Coach Geno Auriemma’s top-seeded squad crushed No. 2 South Carolina — the defending NCAA women’s champions — 94-65 in Albany on Monday night, led by Crystal Dangerfield.

The team extended its own record for consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances, and broke a tie with John Wooden and the UCLA men’s team (1967-76) for the overall Division I record.

Last year, the UConn women suffered a last-second overtime loss to Mississippi State in the semifinals. The defeat ended a 111-game win streak and run of four consecutive national titles. Mississippi State lost to South Carolina to give the female Gamecocks their first-ever national title. Their coach announced they would not visit the White House despite being invited.

Next up for UConn will be a matchup against Notre Dame on Friday night in Columbus, Ohio.

“Every team starts the season saying that’s our goal to go to the Final Four. For us, it’s an opportunity to go back to where we felt like we didn’t really give our best effort,” Auriemma said. “We lost to a really good team. Happened in a way that was really, really disappointing. I know that we were anxious to go back and put ourselves in that same situation and see how much we’ve changed since last year.”

The Huskies (36-0) — the 2016 national champs — displayed some impressive three-point shooting on Monday.

Dangerfield scored 19 of her 21 points in the first half. Gabby Williams added 23 points as UConn finished with the most points in school history for this round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Tonight, my teammates did a great job of finding me when I was open and I was able to knock those shots in early,” Dangerfield said.

Katie Lou Samuelson scored 17 points and Napheesa Collier had 16 as UConn shot 59 percent (37-of-63) from the field.

Senior A’ja Wilson scored 27 points for South Carolina (29-7), but it wasn’t enough. Coach Dawn Staley acknowledged how great a team UConn is.

“We got beat by a really good UConn team,” Staley said. “We didn’t have enough to compete in the way we would have liked to. Now all is well in women’s basketball.”

Several notable athletes have refused to visit the White House following their team’s national championship victories, but now a full team has announced it won’t make the trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

South Carolina women’s basketball white house visit news

South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley revealed in a statement Thursday night that the female Gamecocks have declined the invitation to D.C. to celebrate their NCAA Tournament victory on Friday.

“We did hear from the White House about attending tomorrow’s event, but we will not be able to attend,” Staley’s statement read. “As I’ve been saying since our practices for this season started, all of our focus is on the season ahead. The only invitation we are thinking about is to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.”

South Carolina defeated in-state rival Clemson 66-36 on Thursday night to jump to 3-0 this season.

Staley, a 47-year-old Hall of Famer, had previously expressed an interest in making the visit, though she added that she would leave the decision to attend up to her players. She led the Gamecocks to the national title in April.

The night Staley’s team beat Mississippi State for the squad’s first national championship, the former Virginia basketball star said the Gamecocks would visit the White House because “it’s what it stands for. It’s what national champions do.” However, South Carolina hadn’t yet officially received a formal invitation and Staley said she felt slighted because of this.

However, Staley then said in September that she was reconsidering due to things that “transpired over the last few months. I haven’t talked to anyone about it. I got bigger fish to fry than worry about an invitation.”

Whether that was an implicit rebuke of President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies, or simply a decision to ensure her team concentrates on securing more victories (or both) remains unknown.

Other teams that have been invited by Trump to visit the White House after their national championship victories include the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, the NBA champion Golden State Warriors, the NHL champion Pittsburgh Penguins and the NCAA men’s basketball champion North Carolina Tar Heels.

Nevertheless, some players on those teams — like Stephen Curry and Patriots players LeGarrette Blount, Chris Long, Alan Branch, Dont’a Hightower, Martellus Bennett and Devin McCourty — refused to make the visit due to their opposition to Trump. Tom Brady also missed this year’s White House visit, though he cited family-related reasons.

DALLAS, TX – APRIL 02: A’ja Wilson #22 and head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks hold the NCAA trophy and celebrates with their team after winning the championship game against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs of the 2017 NCAA Women’s Final Four at American Airlines Center on April 2, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

The South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 67-55 in an all-SEC final in Dallas on Sunday night to secure their first-ever national championship.

Women’s Basketball: South Carolina Beats Mississippi State For First National Title

Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley had waited her entire career to win a national championship, and as of Sunday, she is only the second African-American coach to win a title since the NCAA began sponsoring a women’s basketball tournament in 1982. (The first was Carolyn Peck, who coached Purdue to the 1999 championship.) The win is also significant because the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team were not in the final, after five straight years of winning the championship. The UConn Huskies lost to Mississippi State in overtime in Friday night’s semifinals, ending a 111-game-winning streak.

After Peck won her national title, she gave Staley a piece of the net Purdue cut down in celebration that night, telling her to return it once she won her own title. For years, Staley kept that strand of net in her wallet.

“I’m going to have to pass a piece of my net on to somebody else, so they can share it and hopefully accomplish something as big as this,” Staley said.

After Staley, a former point guard for Virginia, and her team lost to Stanford in the women’s national semifinals on April 4, 1992, she was crushed.

“I was exhausted, because I wanted it so much,” Staley said. “I put so much work and energy into being a national champion that the emotion was just to cry. To let it out. And 25 years later, no tears. Just going to enjoy it.”

The 46-year-old player-turned-coach thought that following that brutal loss in college, her playing career was over. Staley had reached the Final Four three times as a player at Virginia, the first two times being in 1990 and 1991. Staley had 28 points and 11 rebounds in that game and was named the Final Four’s most outstanding player — the only person who’s won that honor from a losing team in the history of the NCAA tournament.

“When I couldn’t get it done in college,” Staley said, “I thought that was it.”

But it wasn’t. Staley went on to win three Olympic gold medals, and also played in the WNBA. She was recently named the Olympic coach for the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Sunday’s win marked the third time South Carolina (33-4) defeated Mississippi State (33-5) this season.

The Gamecocks’ A’ja Wilson scored a game-high 23 points and added 10 rebounds, while guard Allisha Gray contributed 18 points and 10 rebounds. Kaela Davis also added 10 points. South Carolina dominated from tip-off, but then struggled after building a 14-point lead in the third quarter. In total, 42 of the Gamecocks’ points were scored in the lane.

Wilson was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four following the victory.

“To do this for Coach means something really special for me,” Wilson said. “I felt like she had everything on her résumé but a national championship. So to be a part of that, it’s just great.”

Several famous fans congratulated Staley and the Gamecocks following their national title victory:

The Gamecocks held the Bulldogs to just 34.5 percent shooting from the field and 2-of-12 from beyond the arc. However, Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer took the blame for the loss, particularly the weak defensive performance from his team.

“I’m going to take responsibility for our poor defensive play today,” he said, per Will Sammon of the Clarion-Ledger.

Morgan William, the hero of Friday’s win over UConn, recorded just eight points and didn’t play in the fourth quarter.

Victoria Vivians led the way for Mississippi State with 12 points on 4-of-16 shooting.

South Carolina gained an early lead in the low-scoring first quarter with a 9-0 run.

Lindsay Jones of USA Today described the game’s action after one quarter of play:

Wilson also mentioned how much she hoped to win another title in 2018.

“Man, just be with us next year—we’re trying to be in this same spot next year,” Wilson said, per Doug Feinberg of the Associated Press. “We’re going to see how it goes.”

DALLAS, TX – APRIL 02: A’ja Wilson #22 and head coach Dawn Staley of the South Carolina Gamecocks hold the NCAA trophy and celebrates with their team after winning the championship game against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs of the 2017 NCAA Women’s Final Four at American Airlines Center on April 2, 2017 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

Pat Summitt, the Hall of Fame Tennessee Women’s basketball coach who headed the Lady Volunteers for 38 years, died Tuesday morning. She was 64.

Legendary Tennessee Women’s Basketball Coach Pat Summitt Dies At 64

Summitt guided the Lady Vols to eight national titles and 1,098 victories– the most in Division I college basketball history (men or women)– during her tenure at Tennesee before stepping down at age 59 in 2012, one year after announcing she had early-onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type.

Her son Tyler Summitt, released a statement Tuesday morning saying his mother died peacefully at the Sherrill Hills retirement facility in Knoxville, Tennessee surrounded by her loved ones.

“Since 2011, my mother has battled her toughest opponent, early onset dementia, ‘Alzheimer’s Type,’ and she did so with bravely fierce determination just as she did with every opponent she ever faced,” Tyler Summitt said. “Even though it’s incredibly difficult to come to terms that she is no longer with us, we can all find peace in knowing she no longer carries the heavy burden of this disease.”

Tyler added a private funeral and burial will be held in Middle Tennessee and asked that the family’s privacy be respected. A Celebration of Life Service honoring Summitt will be open to the public at 7 p.m. July 14 at Thompson-Boling Arena on the University of Tennessee campus.

Summitt, who was named the NCAA coach of the year seven times, led the Lady Vols to 22 Final Fours (18 NCAA, four AIAW) in her nearly four decades as coach.

“Pat Summitt is synonymous with Tennessee, but she truly is a global icon who transcended sports and spent her entire life making a difference in other peoples’ lives,” Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart said in a statement. “She was a genuine, humble leader who focused on helping people achieve more than they thought they were capable of accomplishing. Pat was so much more than a Hall of Fame coach; she was a mother, mentor, leader, friend, humanitarian and inspiration to so many. Her legacy will live on through the countless people she touched throughout her career.”

Three of her eight national championships came in consecutive years, from 1996 to 1998. Her teams won 16 Southeastern Conference tournament titles and made an unprecedented 31 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament.

Summitt was a talented enough player at the University of Tennessee-Martin to later earn a co-captain’s spot on the 1976 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team, which earned a silver medal. She later coached the U.S. Olympic team to gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

“I miss her, and it’s a very sad day,” former Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning, who played at the school from 1994 to 1997, said on SportsCenter. “When you hear her former players talk about her and the impact she had on them as players and people, it speaks volumes.

“She loved everything about Tennessee. Everyone in the state was proud to have her as an ambassador. She had a huge impact on everyone she met. I always felt better every time I was around her.”

At her retirement, Summitt’s eight national titles ranked behind the 10 won by former UCLA men’s coach John Wooden. UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma passsed Summitt after she retired.

She attended college at the University of Tennessee­-Martin, where she starred on the basketball court that now bears her name. She helped lead the team to a 64­-29 record at UT­ Martin, along with two appearances in the national championship tournament. She graduated as the school’s all-­time leading scorer (1,045 points).

She accepted a graduate assistant’s job at Tennessee in 1974, at a salary of $250 per month, with the promise she could pursue a master’s degree and rehabilitate a knee injury in advance of the Montreal Olympics.

When the women’s coach abruptly took a sabbatical to work on a doctorate degree, Summit was named coach just shy of her 22nd birthday.

Summitt remained at the school with the title “head coach emeritus.”

“I’m still going to yell at them,” she said of her players. “I love these young people and hopefully they’ll keep me young.”

She was most proud that, under her watch, every player graduated who completed their eligibility.

NEW YORK – OCTOBER 13: Basketball coach Pat Summitt speaks onstage during the 30th Annual Salute To Women In Sports Awards at The Waldorf=Astoria on October 13, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for the Women�s Sports Foundation)

Loyola University women’s basketball coach Sheryl Swoopes is being investigated by the school in the wake of mass transfers and accusations that the former women’s hoops Hall of Famer mistreated her players.

Loyola’s Sheryl Swoopes Investigated For Mistreating Players

Five players transferred just last season, according to reports, and team spokesman Leo Krause confirmed that 10 of the 12 players that were expected to return have been granted or asked for releases to transfer from Loyola, a private Chicago-area university.

The details of the alleged mistreatment have not yet been released by the university, who said Swoopes agreed to cooperate.

“Any time there are allegations of student-athlete mistreatment, it is more than concerning,” deputy athletic director Jermaine Truax said in a statement. “The welfare of our student-athletes is paramount. Thus, the Loyola University Chicago Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has asked for an independent and comprehensive university investigation into the women’s basketball program.

An anonymous source told the student newspaper that Swoopes will often “cross the line” when it comes to players’ personal lives.

“She really pushes them to the point of misery and to the point where they shut down,” the source told the Loyola Phoenix. “A lot of them feel very trapped about who they can talk to in the Athletic Department because regardless of who they choose, it usually gets back to Sheryl … And I think when it gets to that point … there is no outlet.”

Swoopes, a first-time head coach hired in 2013, is a combined 31-62 in her career. A three-time Olympic gold medalist, she won a national title at Texas Tech in 1993 and was the first player drafted into the WNBA, where she won four straight titles with the Houston Comets.

The Loyola Ramblers went 14-16 during the 2015-16 regular season and finished fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference.

PHOTO: HOUSTON, TEXAS – APRIL 04: 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Sheryl Swoopes (C) high fives guests during the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 2016 Class Announcement at a filming of Sports Center at House of Blues on April 4, 2016 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Eric Kayne/Getty Images)

Love or hate Geno Auriemma, people cannot argue with success. Yesterday, the UConn Huskies took on the Fighting Irish for the NCAA Women’s National Championship and it went exactly how most expected. Geno walked away with his tenth National Championship, tying John Wooden for most all-time in NCAA history.

“Obviously, it’s a very significant number because that’s the number that’s been out there and people want to talk about it,” Auriemma stated. “I’ll be the first to say I’m not John Wooden, and I got a bunch of friends who’d tell you I’m right, I’m not. As I said the other day, I just think what we’ve done here in the last 20 years is pretty remarkable in its own right.”

It is safe to say that no one has been as dominant as the Huskies over the last fifteen seasons, winning nine championships in that time span — including three consecutive between 2013-15. And no one knows that better than Notre Dame; Coach Muffet McGraw has taken her team to four out of the last five national championships and have lost back-to-back years to UConn.

While Notre Dame kept it fairly close in the first — only walking into halftime with a seven point deficit — they could not keep the Huskies’ booming offense quiet forever. After Irish’s Brianna Turner was able to hit some baskets to keep the score close, UConn was able to pull away on the shoulders of Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, who put the game back into double digit territory, essentially sealing the victory deep in the second half.

On top of this, the Huskies were carried defensively by Breanna Stewart, who walked away with the most outstanding player of the Final Four award. In 39 minutes, she had 15 total rebounds — 12 of those defensive — eight points and four blocks.

Now, it is important to note that with this victory, Geno has further cemented himself as one of the greatest coaches in NCAA history. And he has created one of the greatest sports dynasties of all-time. Even when losing key players, he has been able to thoroughly dominate the field, over the last fifteen years, unlike any other team in a major sport.

“I just know that in our sport, from 1995 to today, what we’ve done against our peers is as good if not better than anybody else has done in their sport against their peers,” Auriemma commented. “I don’t care whether it’s harder in that sport.”

The Huskies defeated Notre Dame 63-53.

It’s a familiar duo headlining the national title game in the 2015 NCAA Women’s Final Four, as all that stands in UConn’s way to another national title is Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish punched their ticket to the National Championship in a 66-65 thriller over South Carolina in the Women’s Final Four’s first semifinal. Star Jewell Loyd led the way for the Irish with 22 points, but the only two points out of Madison Cable proved to be the most vital, as her putback put the Irish on top in the final minute. After holding off the Gamecocks on the final possession, the Irish came away with the victory. This will be Notre Dame’s fourth appearance in the National Championship in five years, though they have gone 0-3 in those prior games.

Notre Dame’s hurdle to getting their first title since 2001? Geno Auriemma and his Connecticut Huskies crew, who once again made easy work of an opponent by taking down Maryland, who was also a 1-seed, by a score of 81-58 in their semifinal. Breanna Stewart, who many see as the best player in the nation, put in 25 points in the victory. UConn is by no means a stranger to the Women’s Final Four stage, as they’ll be looking to win their 10th national championship and their third in a row. The Huskies are also 9-0 in previous national title games. A win in this year’s title game will give Auriemma his 10th championship and would tie him with legendary UCLA men’s head coach John Wooden for the most all-time NCAA basketball championships.

UConn and Notre Dame will play for the NCAA championship in Tampa on Tuesday night. The game will be at 8:30 and can be seen on ESPN.