Women’s March Madness is underway, showcasing elite basketball talent and thrilling matchups on the national stage. As the 2025 tournament progresses, here’s everything you need to know about its history, schedule, how to watch, top contenders, and this year’s cinderella teams.
The First Women's March Madness
For years, the term "March Madness" was reserved exclusively for the men’s tournament, despite the women's competition delivering just as much excitement and skill. That finally changed in 2022, following the 2021 Kaplan, Hecker & Fink Gender Equity Report, which exposed major
disparities in marketing, funding, and overall visibility between the two tournaments. The 40th installment of the tournament, marking the debut of Women's March Madness, kicked off on March 16, 2022, and wrapped up with the championship matchup on April 3 at Target Center in Minneapolis. In the final, the South Carolina Gamecocks secured their second NCAA title with a 64–49 victory over the UConn Huskies, delivering UConn its first-ever loss in a championship game. NCAA Vice President of Women’s Basketball, Lynn Holzman, emphasized that integrating the "March Madness" branding into the women’s tournament was a critical
step in addressing gender equity. The move has since contributed to increased sponsorship, higher viewership, and greater overall recognition of the women’s game.
When And Where Is Women's March Madness 2025?
The 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament will once again feature 68 teams, following the expanded format introduced in 2022. The tournament kicked off with Selection Sunday on March 16, followed by several rounds of high-stakes competition across different
locations . The tournament culminates in Tampa, where the Final Four and championship game will be held at Amalie Arena.
Differences Between The Women’s And Men’s Tournaments
Where To Watch And Stream The Games
Every moment of the women’s tournament will be available across ESPN’s family of networks, ensuring maximum exposure and accessibility: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews. The final will air on ABC. The men’s tournament will be broadcast across CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV. All CBS games are available for streaming on Paramount+. All TBS, TNT and TruTV games can be streamed on Max.
Who Won The 2024 Women's March Madness Tournament?
The 2024 Women’s March Madness Tournament featured a showdown between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the South Carolina Gamecocks. On April 7, 2024, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, South Carolina secured their third national championship with an 87–75 win over Iowa. Caitlin Clark, in her final collegiate season, led Iowa to a second straight runner-up finish, while South Carolina’s commanding performance furthered their dominance as one of the nation’s top women’s basketball programs under head coach Dawn Staley. The championship game drew an estimated 18.9 million viewers on ABC and ESPN, according to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, with viewership peaking at 24.1 million during the final minutes of the game (5:00 – 5:14 PM ET). This was a 90% increase over the 9.9 million viewers who tuned in for the 2023 final and an astonishing 288% jump from 2022. In a historic first, the women’s championship game outdrew the men’s final in 2024. The Men’s College Basketball National Championship on April 8, which featured UConn and Purdue, attracted 14.8 million viewers, nearly 4 million fewer than the women’s game.
2025 Women’s March Madness Odds And Predictions
