In 1982, the first Division I NCAA women's basketball tournament was held. The NCAA was able to offer incentives, such as payment of transportation costs, to participating members, something the

Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

was not able to do. When former AIAW powerhouses like Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, and

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

decided to participate in the NCAA tournament, the AIAW tournament lost much of its appeal and popularity. NBC canceled its TV contract with the association, and in mid-1982 the AIAW stopped operations in all sports. Following the last AIAW sanctioned event in 1982, the AIAW pursued a federal antitrust suit against the NCAA. But one year later, after the presiding judge ruled against the organization, the AIAW ceased existence on June 30, 1983. Under NCAA governance, scholarships increased. However, several problems the NCAA was facing, then and now, began to also affect women's intercollegiate athletics. Examples of these include recruiting irregularities and increased turnover in coaching positions for revenue-producing sports. Several AIAW championships were televised by the TVS Television Network in 1979.

Television

Notes

*There was no TV coverage of the national semifinals prior to

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. *All 63 games were broadcast on television from 2003 to 2019 on ESPN and ESPN2 with added coverage on

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the Hears ...

and

ESPN3 ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications ...

since 2006. Local teams are shown on each channel when available, with "whip-around" coverage during the first and second rounds designed to showcase the most competitive contests in the rest of the country. All regional semifinals, regional finals and Final Four games were televised nationally in exclusive windows. *In 2021 ESPN3 coverage was dropped (except for streaming of ABC games). Instead all 63 games were shown nationally in exclusive windows on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. *Beginning in 2022 the tournament expanded to 67 games with all being shown nationally in exclusive windows on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, and ABC.

Radio

External links

Women's National Championship numbers game.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ncaa Women's Final Four Broadcasters Women's Final Four broadcasters Women's Final Four broadcasters CBS Radio Sports Women's Final Four broadcasters Women's NCAA Final Four broadcasters

Broadcasters Broadcaster may refer to: * A presenter of any syndicated media program * A broadcasting organization, one responsible for audio and video content and/or their transmission * A sports commentator on television or radio * Broadcaster, currently kn ...

NCAA Women's Final Four broadcasters