Combining the men's and women's Final Four is an idea worth trying | Opinion

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NEW ORLEANS — Last fall, a buzz rippled through college athletics that Las Vegas was pushing to host a historic event toward the end of this decade: The first combined men’s and women’s Final Four in the same city. 

It seemed like a perfect plan in an ideal location with enough event space and hotel rooms to accommodate a pair of mega events, along with the glitz and glamour of America’s premiere entertainment destination. It was also a prime opportunity to fulfill one of the recommendations in an independent report on gender equity that was commissioned by the NCAA after a spotlight was shown on the significant disparities between the two events in 2021. 

But by February, the idea of a combined Final Four had died. The NCAA said the decision was unanimous between the Division I men’s and women’s basketball committees to keep the events separate. 

It was classic NCAA. Rather than try something bold and different, it opted for more of the same. Instead of an interesting experiment — one that, admittedly, may not have had the intended effect — it took the safe route. 

“For the women’s basketball committee, it was important at this time to see the results of the enhancements and the other investments that were being done in the championship and to really pay homage to or continue to respect what has been built around the women’s Final Four already with the fan base and otherwise,” said Lynn Holzman, the NCAA vice president for women’s basketball. 

In other words: We like the women’s Final Four the way it is. And there’s good reason for that. It’s a great event already, with sold-out crowds, its own unique vibe and surrounding revelry that caters specifically to the women’s basketball fan base. 

But if gender equity is really going to be at the forefront of the NCAA’s strategy moving forward, why not put the two Final Fours in the same city just once? What’s the harm in seeing if an event that has grown steadily in stature and audience over the last several years has room to get even bigger?

The possibilities are rooted in a simple observation. In the entire world of sports, women get an equal if not larger share of the audience, media coverage and marketing dollars in only two realms: The Olympics and the four tennis Grand Slams. What do those two things have in common? They are events where women compete right alongside their male counterparts. And often in tennis and the Olympic sports, it’s the female athletes that drive more of the popularity and viewership than the men. 

We never think of what those sports would look like if they had separate venues for men and women because they’ve always been combined. But imagine, just as an example, if the U.S. Open had the men’s tournament in New York and the women’s tournament in Orlando.

Would there have been decades of fans and the media viewing and promoting them equally, to the point where the women’s final would regularly draw more television viewers than the men? Or would they have been in competition, the way the men's and women’s Final Fours essentially operate right now? 

That may not be intentional, but it’s the reality of holding them concurrently in two cities. For decades, the men’s Final Four has been treated as one of the landmark events on the sports calendar akin to the Super Bowl or The Masters. The women’s Final Four has been viewed more as a niche product, covered mostly by media outlets that have a local interest in the participating teams.

It’s not necessarily a scandal or media failure that more resources are going into coverage and promotion of the men’s Final Four. That’s simply the product of being forced to make a choice — and, yes, men’s college basketball is more popular than women’s, thus the choices will naturally fall in that direction.

But what happens if you put the two events together on the same weekend, in the same city, in front of the same group of media members? Here’s what happens: The best storylines emerge organically, regardless of gender. The best games resonate. The biggest stars shine — and they won’t always be men. 

Maybe that never moves the needle. But over time, if you put the two Final Fours on equal footing, perhaps things start to change. Perhaps more eyes get opened. Perhaps the idea that a women’s semifinal or championship deserves more attention because it’s a better game or more interesting storyline becomes normal. 

At the very least, it’s worth trying, even if there are some legitimate arguments in favor of keeping them separate. 

“Every coach that I’ve talked to that’s participated in the Final Four — and I’ve talked to quite a few after the report came out — not one said we should have both Final Fours at the same place,” said UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma, who would be somewhat of an authority on the matter having reached his 22nd Final Four this year. Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, a veteran of 14 Final Fours, echoed that Thursday.

Those Hall of Famers reflect a legitimate view that the women’s Final Four has already become a wildly successful event with its own identity, good television ratings and sold-out arenas practically every year. There’s something to be said for women’s basketball fans taking over a city where all the attention is on their sport, which will happen this weekend in Minneapolis. 

“We want our own TV rights, we want our own way to promote and market and do all that, which is fabulous. It’s about time,” Auriemma said. “But then (they) say, you know what? We really need to be where the men are because that helps us. So which is it? Are we good enough to stand on our own, or do we still need assistance from somebody else? I don’t know that. We’re saying two different things.”

There’s also, perhaps, an underlying fear in the women’s basketball community that their event would be overshadowed alongside the men. If the women played in a smaller venue in the same city, would that be viewed as problematic from a gender equity standpoint? Conversely, if the women played in the same football stadium, could they sell out 50,000 seats — or would it look empty compared to their male counterparts? 

There are also some potential logistical challenges. For both the men and women, the Final Fours are connected to their annual coaches’ conventions, which draws thousands of visitors for each. Even now, only a dozen cities have domed stadiums that are equipped to host a men’s Final Four. For some of them, hotel space and infrastructure could be an issue by adding four more fan bases and another coaches’ convention. 

That’s why the Las Vegas concept was so alluring. There would have been no better location to test the viability of such a college basketballpalooza. 

But for now, at least, there’s not enough demand in the women’s basketball world to combine the Final Fours. Sure, the event can indeed stand on its own two feet. But until they try something different — even just once — how do they know those feet wouldn't turn into a rocket ship? 

Follow Paste BN Sports columnist Dan Wolken on Twitter @DanWolken