The Division I Board of Directors on Tuesday voted unanimously to introduce a proposal that — if supported by Division I members in January — would financially reward participating programs in the Division I Women's Basketball Championship, starting with the 2025 tournament.
The proposal, which would create a Women's Basketball Equal Conference Fund and a Women's Basketball Performance Fund, is scheduled for a vote by Division I members in January at the NCAA Convention in Nashville. If approved, the units from both funds would be awarded beginning with the 2025 Division I Women's Basketball Championship. The structure of the two funds mirrors the existing distributions associated with the Division I men's tournament.
Recommended by the Division I Board of Directors Finance Committee, the combined women's basketball funds would build up over three years to $25 million, and units earned by participating teams in the Division I women's tournament would be paid out to schools' respective conference offices starting in 2026 on a rolling three-year basis.
"This is a momentous day, and the Division I Board of Directors Finance Committee is proud to have led the efforts that brought us to the introduction of this proposal," said Houston Davis, president at Central Arkansas and chair of the committee. "If approved in January, these funds will again advance the NCAA's efforts to support gender equity and continue investment in the sport of women's basketball."
The proposed combined funds would begin at $15 million in the 2025-26 fiscal year, increase to $20 million for the 2026-27 fiscal year and reach the proposed $25 million starting with the 2027-28 fiscal year. After reaching the fully funded amount of $25 million, the women's basketball funds would grow at the same rate as all other Division I funds, which is approximately 2.9% each year.
Because the establishment of the women's basketball funds would constitute additional distributions to Division I schools each year, the NCAA Board of Governors will need to approve the allocation of Association-wide dollars for use for these funds. The Board of Governors is scheduled to meet Thursday.
