Sports

NCAA signs lucrative TV deal for championships, but women’s college hoops stays in bundle

Published

2 years ago

January 5, 2024

NCAA signs lucrative TV deal for championships, but women’s college hoops stays in bundle

The NCAA on Thursday said it had reached an eight-year agreement with ESPN worth $115 million annually to televise 40 college sports championships each year, including the marquee Division I women’s basketball tournament that many people within college sports had hoped would be primed for even bigger returns given a wave of recent popularity.

The $920 million deal ended several years of speculation and debate about how the NCAA could capitalize on an influx of fans in women’s sports, including basketball. Powerful teams like South Carolina and UConn and star players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Sabrina Ionescu have created higher expectations for a sport that has earned much less money than men’s college basketball and college football, counterparts that have received far higher investments from universities and media companies for nearly a century.

The NCAA’s current contract with ESPN, which was extended in 2011 and runs through the end of this season, brings in $34 million per year and includes 29 championships. A report in 2021, commissioned because of complaints about glaring differences between the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, suggested that the women’s tournament could earn at least $81 million in the first year of a new deal — if it were sold on its own and not as part of a package deal — although that estimate was met with some skepticism by industry experts for its ambitions.

Ultimately, the NCAA and ESPN agreed to keep the bundle and valued the women’s basketball tournament at about $65 million per year under its portion of the agreement.

NCAA president Charlie Baker acknowledged in an interview that selling women’s basketball on its own was not viable given the realities of the market.

“We said from the beginning that we wanted the best deal that we could get for all of our championships,” Baker told The Athletic. “There was a lot of informal conversation that took place with many other potential participants in this negotiation, but the one who constantly engaged and the one I would argue was the most enthusiastic in a significant way throughout the course of this was ESPN.

“The way they handled the negotiations demonstrated that this was really important to them, that it continued to be part of their portfolio. They will be a terrific partner, I think, going forward here.”

Last year’s NCAA women’s basketball title game, won by LSU and coach Kim Mulkey, smashed viewership records. (Kirby Lee / USA Today)

The new contract does not include the highly lucrative Division I men’s basketball tournament; Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery pay nearly $900 million per year to broadcast that event on CBS and the Turner cable networks in a long-term deal that runs through 2032. The new NCAA-ESPN contract also expires in 2032, which will give the NCAA more flexibility in its next media rights negotiations, Baker said. (The NCAA does not control the rights to Football Bowl Subdivision postseason games, and the College Football Playoff handles its own negotiations and controls its own revenue.)

The new contract is set to begin Sept. 1 and includes guarantees that the national championship games in women’s basketball, women’s volleyball and women’s gymnastics will be broadcast on ABC each year.

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What does the NCAA’s new media rights agreement mean for women’s college basketball?

A number of prominent women’s basketball coaches, including South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, had advocated for the NCAA to spin off the championship into a stand-alone media deal, like the arrangement used for the men’s basketball tournament.

Last season, the women’s title game aired for the first time on ABC and drew 9.9 million viewers — and featured the most people to ever watch a men’s or women’s college event on ESPN+. Overall viewership growth was up 55 percent, and the sport’s stars — players and coaches — became household names. Many in and around women’s basketball expected this deal to reflect the recent significant growth in the sport by pulling it out of a package it shares with dozens of other sports.

“It should happen,” Staley said in March. “We’re at that place where we’re in high demand. I do believe women’s basketball can stand on its own and be a huge revenue-producing sport that could do, to a certain extent, what men’s basketball has done for all those other sports, all those other Olympic sports and women’s basketball.

“It’s slowly building up to that because there’s proof in the numbers.”

The NCAA’s media advisers at Endeavor’s WME and IMG Sports said their financial modeling valued the women’s basketball tournament at $65 million annually, which makes up more than half of the value of the new $115 million contract. Hillary Mandel, EVP and head of Americas for media at IMG, and Karen Brodkin, EVP and co-head of WME Sports, said they began the process of preparing for the NCAA’s negotiations by assessing the opportunities in the market both for individual sports and for the 40-sport bundle.

“In the end, you’ve got to find the deal that matches your goals and objectives and not unbundle because everybody’s saying to you: ‘Unbundle! Unbundle! Hey, it’s the cool thing to do!’” Mandel said. “Let’s just not get lost in the sauce of that conversation.”

The two sides began engaging in serious negotiations in late October, Brodkin said, and completed the deal during ESPN’s exclusive negotiating window, meaning the NCAA did not take its championship bundle to the open market for a potential bidding war. She said ESPN’s financial investment, its existing infrastructure and the “overwhelming amount of production” the network has committed to on both linear and streaming platforms made it the best opportunity for the NCAA. More than 2,300 hours of championships will air on ESPN’s linear and digital platforms annually as part of the contract, and 10 sports will have their selection shows broadcast.

“Retaining exclusivity was very important to us in a world of fragmentation,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said.

Thursday’s news serves as yet another inflection point for women’s college basketball — though reactions are expected to be mixed. The tournament itself is valued at more than 10 times its previous valuation of $6 million to $7 million annually under the current contract, but its singular value was not fully tested. Still, the increased revenue and new $65 million valuation for the women’s basketball tournament set the stage for future change for the sport.

The NCAA will explore the idea of rewarding women’s basketball teams’ NCAA Tournament success with revenue distribution units, Baker said, a system used on the men’s side of the sport to reward conferences and universities for performing in the tournament. The Division I board of directors finance committee began discussions on that front in 2023 and will talk with its member universities more this year, the NCAA said.

“The tournament has grown dramatically because of the hard work of so many student-athletes and coaches and schools and folks at the NCAA and ESPN,” Baker said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to figure out a way to make it happen.”

Currently, only men’s NCAA Tournament teams earn units by advancing in the bracket. Each team that earns a bid to the tournament earns a unit for its conference, with more units up for grabs based on wins in the tournament. Total revenue earned from tournament units goes to the conference of the team that earned it and is distributed to universities over a six-year period, and it comes from a portion of the revenue that the tournament itself brings in annually. The women’s tournament has, in the past, not brought in enough revenue to justify setting aside money for a unit system.

Women’s college basketball reached a big moment during the 2021 NCAA Tournament when the inequities in treatment between the men and women became obvious to the public. Though those within the game had known for years that the NCAA had favored men’s basketball to the detriment of other sports, a TikTok post from then-Oregon center Sedona Prince prompted far more widespread outrage and momentum for change.

@sedonerrr
it’s 2021 and we are still fighting for bits and pieces of equality. #ncaa #inequality #fightforchange
♬ original sound – Sedona Prince
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Prince’s tweet racked up 12.3 million views as the college star pointed out basic inequities, highlighting key differences between the women’s tournament and men’s in food provided to teams, access to weight rooms and even swag bags. Players and coaches were also vocal about other areas that showed how the athletes were treated differently, such as having 68 teams in the men’s bracket versus 64 in the women’s and the usage of “March Madness” branding only for the men’s tournament.

Within one week of Prince’s tweet, the NCAA had hired the law firm Kaplan, Hecker & Fink LLP to conduct an independent equity review of the NCAA. In August 2021, the firm released its 117-page review — known colloquially as the “Kaplan report” — of the NCAA’s gender equity within basketball championships. The Kaplan report recommended that the NCAA spin off the women’s basketball tournament separately from other sports, suggesting a higher valuation, and it said the NCAA had created differences in the tournaments by having different people working to organize them without properly conferring about whether they were comparable.

Baker and the NCAA’s media rights advisers said they evaluated all possible options, including going to the open market and trying to sell a stand-alone women’s basketball tournament package, but they opted against it.

“If the market had demonstrated to us and to Endeavor that it would be worth our while to do that, we absolutely would have gone that way,” Baker said.

Multiple industry experts told The Athletic over the past year that it would make the most sense for the NCAA to keep the women’s tournament with ESPN, a partner that broadcasts so much of the sport’s regular season that would be incentivized to cover the sport in the lead-up to the marquee postseason event. Brodkin said there would be no option better than one offering to triple their current deal in addition to increasing the investment in production, marketing and storytelling while putting more games on ABC.

“Unbundling for unbundling’s sake — you’d have to go through the exercise of who and how is someone going to do more than that?” Brodkin said.

Last season, the women’s title game aired on ABC for the first time, and ESPN announced in October that it would be broadcast on ABC again this season — though not in the prime-time slot. There could be more women’s sporting events put on ABC or in better windows moving forward as both sides agreed to meet regularly to consider changes to maximize visibility for events that demand it.

(Top photo: C. Morgan Engel / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Related Topics:Featured olympics Sports Business Women's College Basketball

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Sports

AJ Brown trade outcome: Dianna Russini paid a heavy price while Mike Vrabel emerged unscathed

Published

4 hours ago

June 3, 2026

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AJ Brown trade outcome: Dianna Russini paid a heavy price while Mike Vrabel emerged unscathed

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Mike Vrabel and A.J. Brown were winning on Tuesday because the long-rumored trade that reunited them was finally complete. Brown was free of his recent unhappiness with the Philadelphia Eagles, while Vrabel spoke easily and smartly about how his Super Bowl team was getting better.

It was one lovely victory lap for everybody.

Except for Dianna Russini.

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel celebrates after the AFC championship game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Jan. 25, 2026. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

MIKE VRABEL BREAKS HIS SILENCE ON DIANNA RUSSINI CONTROVERSY

Yes, this is about her as much as Vrabel and Brown. Those three names will be linked for a long time in NFL circles based on what happened going back as far as September of 2025, and then definitely through this offseason that was about, well, the relationship between the coach and the reporter.

If you aren’t up to speed on that relationship, you’ve got homework. And you will probably catch up easily because the reference material is everywhere — the photos of Russini and Vrabel together, the denials of anything untoward between two married people, the collapse of the professional friendship narrative, and everything after.

So, to the uninitiated, you’re excused. Go now and read the soap opera’s opening chapters. Because this might be the saga’s end, barring a major surprise.

And let me cut to that end:

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown walks on the field during an NFL training camp in Philadelphia on July 29, 2025. (Matt Rourke/AP Photo)

Brown wins. He’s wholly unscathed, in fact, and happy as a clam with a new team he grew up adoring.

Vrabel wins, too. Yes, he took some lumps, suffered some humiliating moments in front of reporters and had some family conversations he termed “very difficult,” but he’s ultimately none the worse for wear.

And then there’s Russini. She lost. Big time.

FORMER NFL REPORTER MICHELE TAFOYA WEIGHS IN ON WHY RUSSINI’S CREDIBILITY IS GONE

It was saddening to watch Vrabel’s presser because it was Russini who first reported teams were calling the Eagles about Brown back in September of 2025. She first reported the Eagles weren’t interested in trading Brown.

Russini called it when she told everyone the Patriots were interested (so were the Los Angeles Rams, by the way). And she was right again when she said earlier this year that Brown wouldn’t be traded around the start of the league year in March but watch out for June.

She was dead-on accurate with practically all of it.

Dianna Russini, left, and Mike Vrabel, right, are shown in a split composite image featuring Russini with an ESPN microphone and Vrabel on the Titans sideline wearing a headset. (Imagn Images)

But everyone has surmised all that information came out of her relationship with Vrabel. All that insider work came from other alleged inside work.

Russini’s information was great but how she seemingly attained it eventually led to her resigning from The Athletic. And sullying her professional reputation.

Losses.

MIKE VRABEL STEPS AWAY INDEFINITELY TO SEEK COUNSELING

Vrabel? He seemed just fine on Tuesday.

About the hardest thing he had to do was answer a question about Brown’s obvious displeasure last year in Philly.

“I don’t know what happened,” Vrabel said. “I’m not trying to figure out what happened in Philadelphia. I’m trying to focus on what’s going to happen here and trying to get him acclimated to what we do and how we do it.”

Vrabel, during this press conference, congratulated a reporter for winning a marathon. He thanked Executive Vice President for Player Personnel Eliot Wolf for making the trade happen. And he took a bunch of football questions.

Dianna Russini attends the 2026 Fanatics Super Bowl Party at Pier 48 in San Francisco, California, on Feb. 7, 2026. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images)

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There was not one question about whether he indeed for months leaked to Russini details of where the Patriots and Eagles talks were. Not one question about how his family “counseling” sessions are going or if his marriage is certain to survive.

There was nothing uncomfortable because it seems the local media lost interest or its curiosity on a day the story that Russini beat them on for months was laid bare before them.

And, the thing is, if Vrabel didn’t have to sweat this occasion, he’s probably in the clear. He’s not likely to get tough questions about the whole affair (pardon the pun) again unless more facts come out that raise the issue from the grave.

So, yeah, Mike Vrabel has survived. He’s won.

FOLLOW ARMANDO SALGUERO ON X: @ARMANDOSALGUERO

Armando Salguero is OutKick’s Senior NFL Writer.

Sports

Nelly Korda, Michelle Wie West and more: Who to watch at U.S. Women’s Open

Published

5 hours ago

June 3, 2026

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Nelly Korda, Michelle Wie West and more: Who to watch at U.S. Women’s Open

Reaching the summit is a dream. But staying there? That’s an altogether different challenge.

Maja Stark has a special appreciation for that now, a year after winning the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills and feeling the hefty weight of expectation that came along with it.

For her, the aftermath of that victory brought heightened anxiety, and searing criticism from outsiders when the Swedish professional’s play took a dip.

“You get comments and stuff saying, ‘What happened? You just won a major; why do you suck all of a sudden?‘” Stark said at the Chevron Championship in April. “That does take some energy and just makes you focus on the wrong things. Then I got even more stressed and anxious.”

Maja Stark plays a shot from a bunker on the 17th hole during the third round of the Chevron Championship on April 25.

(Alex Slitz / Getty Images)

Stark said she sought professional help in the form of a mental coach, sports psychologist and therapist and now believes she’s better able to withstand the scrutiny that comes with winning at the highest tier.

That career-shaping pressure will be on display again this week when the USGA brings the U.S. Women’s Open to Riviera Country Club for the first time, merging the game’s most prestigious women’s championship with a historic venue celebrating its centennial year. The tournament takes place Thursday through Sunday.

Riviera is a theater, sitting low beneath high hillsides that almost serve as balconies. Players have described the course as a stage because it can feel as if you’re being watched even when you’re alone.

“I think there’s something very nostalgic about the facility,” said Jim Richerson, Riviera’s general manager. “The golf course has never had any major renovations or changes. The clubhouse is the exact same footprint today as it was when it was built in the 1920s.”

The U.S. Women’s Open is the oldest of the LPGA Tour’s five majors, and has long served as the standard by which women’s golf measures itself. It’s open to professionals and elite amateurs through a qualifying process, and the tournament is known for identifying the player who can withstand the most pressure under the most demanding conditions.

NBC will televise the championship and although Mike Tirico will not call the event, he knows the significance of holding it at Riviera.

“Without there being a Masters for women’s golf, that tournament really is the crown jewel of the sport,” Tirico said. “It has become the event people dream of winning. … It’s just appropriate that it’s contested at a place like Riviera that for so many generations has come to define a great championship test of golf.”

A look at some of the players to watch:

Nelly Korda

The world’s No. 1 player is a major needle mover for women’s golf and is a significant source of ratings when she’s in contention. She had a record five consecutive victories last season and seven overall. Her missing major is the U.S. Women’s Open. She finished in a runner-up spot last year and left Erin Hills firmly believing a win was within reach.

Jeeno Thitikul

The former World No. 1 is still in pursuit of her first major championship. She’s a big question mark in the field.

Lydia Ko

This Hall of Fame player is the only golfer in modern Olympic history to win a complete set of medals — gold, silver and bronze — across three different Olympic Games. She’s still looking for her first U.S. Women’s Open win.

Charley Hull

A colorful character who went viral during the 2024 Open for smoking a cigarette while signing autographs and playing. She was among a cluster who finished second in that tournament. She has three victories on the LPGA Tour but has yet to win a major.

Rose Zhang

Zhang, who has been splitting time between Stanford and the LPGA, amassed a remarkable collection of victories as an amateur and three years ago, became the first player in 72 years to win an LPGA Tour event in her professional debut.

Minjee Lee

Lee, an Australian star, has won three majors including the U.S. Women’s Open in 2022. Her younger brother, Min Woo, won the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur, making them the first brother-sister tandem to win the USGA’s junior championships.

Yuka Saso

She is the anomaly of anomalies, with zero wins on the LPGA Tour with the exception of two U.S. Women’s Open victories. She won the first of those at 19 years, 11 months and seven days — astoundingly tying her for the youngest player to win the Open with Inbee Park, who was precisely that old when she won in 2008.

Lilia Vu

Vu grew up in Fountain Valley and was a standout at UCLA. She won two majors in 2023 but lately has been battling back problems.

Michelle Wie West

Wie West retired three years ago after the Open at Pebble Beach, but is coming out of retirement to use her last year of exemption to play at Riviera. Her husband, Jonnie West, son of late NBA icon Jerry West, will be caddying for her.

Sports

Tomas Hertl scores game-winner as Golden Knights rally to beat Hurricanes in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final

Published

14 hours ago

June 2, 2026

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Tomas Hertl scores game-winner as Golden Knights rally to beat Hurricanes in Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final

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The Vegas Golden Knights have taken Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, erasing the Carolina Hurricanes’ early 2-0 lead to win a thrilling 5-4 game in Raleigh and set the tone for this best-of-seven series.

It’s a seven-game win streak for Vegas now, as they haven’t lost since Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Anaheim Ducks. They surprisingly swept the Colorado Avalanche to win the West, and they kept that momentum going on the road.

Tomas Hertl was the hero for the Golden Knights in Game 1, as he scored the game-winning goal on a snipe with 3:25 left in the third period.

Tomas Hertl of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates a goal during the second period against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game One of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 2, 2026. (Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)

But it wasn’t easy for Vegas in the first period when the Hurricanes were quick to assert their home-ice advantage just 25 seconds into the game.

It was the first shot on goal for either side when Nikolaj Ehlers poked a puck past an aggressive Shea Theodore for Vegas, and he sprinted down ice toward Carter Hart, who mans the Golden Knights’ net. Ehlers, though, had the perfect shot, ringing the post and sending the Hurricanes faithful into a frenzy with the 1-0 lead before some could even get to their seats.

DESPITE POTENTIAL RATINGS NIGHTMARE FOR NHL, VEGAS-CAROLINA STANLEY CUP FINAL STILL HAS PLENTY OF INTRIGUE

Then, midway through the period, Ehlers found himself in yet another breakaway scenario, and he didn’t squander the opportunity to take advantage. He put a nifty move on Hart, and his backhand found the net to make it 2-0.

Jalen Chatfield also had his eye down ice, recognizing that Ehlers was uncovered and quickly turned Jack Eichel’s turnover into the opportunity.

But if there’s anything the Golden Knights have proved in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, it’s to never count them out. Another example of that was seen on Tuesday night.

Theodore made up for his mishap to start the game with an absolute rocket off his stick on a one-timer that saw its way through traffic and past Frederik Anderson in net to get Vegas on the board shortly after Ehlers’ second goal.

Then, as the second period got underway, it was Ivan Barbashev who decided to return the favor of scoring in 30 seconds or less. As Vegas entered the offensive zone with speed, the puck found Jack Eichel’s stick. He quickly spotted Ivan Barbashev cutting through the slot, and Barbashev fired a shot over Frederik Andersen’s right shoulder before the goalie could react.

Nikolaj Ehlers of the Carolina Hurricanes scores his second goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period in Game One of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., on June 2, 2026. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

With that, the Golden Knights tied this game up, but they didn’t let the momentum go. William Karlsson, who already has a cup under his belt for Vegas, did his part in seeking the next trophy. Mitch Marner had a tremendous backhand pass from behind the net that found Karlsson’s stick all alone out in front, and Anderson had no chance as Vegas took a 3-2 lead.

At that moment, the air in the Lenovo Center was taken right out of the fans’ sails, but a trusty veteran restored that later in the period. Jordan Staal, who watched his brother and 2006 Stanley Cup champion with the Hurricanes, Eric Staal, get the crowd going with the siren at puck drop, potted his third goal of these playoffs.

Jordan Staal snapped a wrister past Hart thanks to a heads-up play by K’Andre Miller to keep the puck onside and find his teammate fast for the grade-A chance.

The bleeding was stopped, but the third period was bound to be a thriller based on how these two teams were finding clear chances to score. Who broke the tie first was the major question, and Brett Howden had the answer just 1:21 into the period.

The playoff leader in goals, Howden had a beautiful tip on a shot by Theodore for his 11th of the playoffs and perhaps his most important in Game 1. The scoreboard remained silent for some time after that, with both teams trying to set up solid forechecks, but to no avail. The Hurricanes even had a power play, but they couldn’t find the back of the net.

William Karlsson of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates his goal with teammates during the second period of Game One of the Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., on June 2, 2026. (Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)

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Then, with 8:41 left, some puck luck found the Hurricanes, as defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere saw an offensive zone face-off biscuit fall right into his lap with no one around. He secured the puck on his stick blade and wristed it past Hart for the 4-4 tie.

However, the rollercoaster ride for the Hurricanes didn’t have a happy ending when they got off, with Hertl’s goal, assisted on a crafty Sissons’ pass following a face-off, being the final say in this one.

Game 2 of this series will be played once more in Raleigh on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET.

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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.