NCAA to Pay Women's Basketball Teams for March Madness Performance

Starting this year, women's teams will receive financial rewards for advancing in the NCAA Tournament, a structure long in place for men's basketball.

The NCAA has approved a $15 million fund to reward women's basketball teams for their performance in the NCAA Tournament, starting in 2025.
Performance-based revenue units will be distributed to conferences based on their teams' advancement in the tournament, similar to the men's system.
The fund will grow to $25 million by 2028, representing 41% of the women's basketball media revenue deal with ESPN.
A team reaching the Final Four could earn its conference approximately $1.26 million in financial rewards over three years.
The decision follows record-breaking viewership and attendance for last year's women's tournament, which outdrew the men's championship game by nearly 3 million viewers.