Not just the weight rooms: disparities at the NCAA women’s basketball tournament – NBC Sports

Editor’s note: Since publishing this story on Thursday night, more differences between the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments have emerged. 

Different COVID tests for the men’s and women’s tournaments:

On Friday afternoon, Amanda Christovich with Front Office Sports reported that the men’s and women’s tournaments are using different tests to detect COVID-19. Men’s teams are being tested daily using PCR tests, while women’s teams are getting daily antigen tests. Antigen tests – which are typically much less expensive than PCR tests – are “generally less sensitive,” according to the CDC. Antigen tests are also less likely to detect the virus early in the course of infection.

Food quality (and variety):

Based on social media posts, players and staff at the women’s tournament are eating pre-packaged meals, while the men’s tournament features full buffets. On Thursday night, Oregon’s Sedona Price posted a food log to TikTok, showing the type of food offered at the women’s tournament.

On Thursday, Stanford performance coach Ali Kershner posted side-by-side photos of the weight training facilities available at the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. While the men have access to a full weight room, the women are currently making do with dumbbells and yoga mats.

After Kershner’s photos went viral on social media, the NCAA issued a statement, explaining that “limited space” had played a role in the lack of women’s equipment and that the organization is “actively working to enhance existing resources.”

While discrepancies like these are not new in women’s sports – remember when the 2015 Women’s World Cup was played on artificial turf? – the juxtaposition that college basketball provides is important. Because the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are put on by the same organization, follow the same format, and take place at the same time, there is a direct comparison between the two events.

And sadly, the disparate weight rooms aren’t the only example of the way the NCAA treats the men’s and women’s tournaments differently.

The Final Four logos:

I covered this topic in depth last week, but the NCAA’s choice to omit the word “men’s” from all official branding of the men’s tournament – including the Final Four logo – is important. By referring to “the men’s Final Four” as “the Final Four,” the NCAA is perpetuating the idea that men’s basketball is the norm, while women’s basketball is a sideshow.

NCAA media content:

While the NCAA can’t dictate how other news outlets cover its tournaments, it can control the front page of its own website. As of Thursday night, I had to scroll past 26 stories or videos about the men’s basketball tournament before reaching the first story or video about the women’s tournament.

The hashtags and social handles:

Want to follow NCAA basketball tournament news on Twitter? The handle @MarchMadness is reserved for the men (along with the hashtag #MarchMadness), while women’s basketball content can be found over on @NCAAwbb (with two gendered hashtags: #ncaaW and #WFinalFour). 

Fan capacity at the NCAA tournaments:

Now, I have a hard time arguing for increasing fan capacity in the middle of a pandemic, especially for a tournament involving unpaid athletes, but that doesn’t mean I’m not perplexed by the fact that the men’s tournament in Indiana will allow fans at 25 percent capacity while the women’s tournament in Texas will be capped at 17 percent.

Moving on…

The NCAA basketball swag bags:

Based on photos posted to social media, the swag bags provided to the men’s and women’s players are far from equitable. To be clear: what’s important here isn’t the swag bag. It’s what the swag bag represents.

(And even I have to laugh at the fact that the men were given a 500-piece puzzle, while the women’s puzzle includes just 150 pieces.)

… nah they tweaking on the swag bag too?!?! https://t.co/tdxx5lOQuc

— A’ja Wilson (@_ajawilson22) March 18, 2021

If more examples emerge, I’ll continue updating this page.

Follow @AlexAzziNBC