It’s March Madness. You’ve filled out your brackets, and every TV screen, laptop and phone has a game streaming. Your eyes are glued to your bracket challenge apps in between classes, and they’re glued to your screen during them. We’re all rooting for our upsets to pan out, our nobody-teams to become Cinderella stories and our favorites to win out. It’s all the things we love about March.
But we’re likely talking about men’s March Madness, right?
Of the more than 25 million total brackets filled out on ESPN, a measly three million of those were for Women’s March Madness. And as far as I’ve seen, most students on campus haven’t filled out a women’s bracket either. Why? I mean I don’t have any good reasons. In my mind, Women’s March Madness has been more exciting.
With Iowa’s record-breaker Caitlin Clark, USC’s freshman All-American JuJu Watkins, LSU’s attention-grabbing Angel Reese and the thrilling games, I’m very entertained. To me, the more exciting tournament full of must-watch star players is the women’s tournament.
Despite this — and despite me hearing this same sentiment from many others on campus — it’s clear the student body doesn’t tune into the women’s tournament the same way it tunes into the men’s tournament. The social media presence starts to feel performative when we’re talking the talk but not walking the walk.
Yes, No. 14 Oakland upsetting No. 3 Kentucky was captivating on the men’s side, but so was No. 7 Duke upsetting No. 2 Ohio State on the women’s side. Freshman Audi Crooks’ 40-point performance to help No. 7 Iowa State take down Maryland in a massive come-from-behind win was must-watch action. And don’t get me started on the drama swirling around LSU’s coach Kim Mulkey.
Not to mention, the Michigan women’s basketball team’s overtime thriller against Kansas in the first round was one to see. The Wolverines lost, albeit, it came right down to the wire. Michigan had a narrow lead for most of the game, but the Jayhawks clawed back to tie it up, sending it to overtime. It was a great watch, but the people who didn’t turn it on don’t know that.
The Wolverines’ game, like so many other games in the women’s tournament last weekend, had everything we all love about the madness in March. It had a game-tying shot that rattled around the rim and in. It had both expected and unexpected stars. It had enough momentum swings and excitement to keep your eyes glued to the TV for all 45 minutes.
But one thing was notably missing: campus support from the student body.
Where was the campus excitement and camaraderie for the Wolverines?
In my tenure as a student at the University of Michigan, my friends and I would show up and show out to support the men’s team in March Madness. We would pile into Good Time Charley’s and the Brown Jug cheering the Wolverines on with all our might. Michigan would organize watch parties to express the support of the student body. And as far as I know, there was no organized watch party like that for the women’s team this year. In all fairness, my friend group also didn’t show the same enthusiasm for the women’s team this past weekend. Where was that same tenacity and excitement that we usually give our men’s team?
This year, Michigan had a basketball team dancing in March, but you wouldn’t have had a clue walking down South University. And that’s on all of us. Students need to show out for their women’s teams the same way they do for the men’s teams.
I don’t want to hear cries and moans of “Oh, I had homework” or “It was too early.” It was a Saturday — you weren’t going to do your homework anyway and tip-off was at 2 p.m. ET.
We talk about growth for Women’s March Madness and closing the gap, but that gap is turning into the Grand Canyon without student support to bridge it.
March Madness is the pinnacle of college basketball. As they say, anything can happen. Although over the years the stage has been elevated for women, there is only so much the NCAA and ESPN can do. For example, working harder to avoid overlapping game times of the two tournaments has given viewers the opportunity to watch both. The rest of the burden is on us as supporters. Although viewership has risen drastically over the past few years, student support hasn’t kept the pace.
But student support could be the game changer for the tournament.
If the student body packs into bars and calls over their bartender asking them to flip the channel to a women’s game, it’s boosting a signal. A signal being sent to the networks that people care about women’s sports and want to watch them.
And it’s not asking for a lot from you. Fill out a bracket or two, get yourself invested in the outcome of the games at Charley’s or Jug. The only thing better than being invested in one March Madness tournament is being invested in two.
It’s not too late either — you can fill out ESPN’s second chance brackets starting with the Sweet 16 now. Don’t push this one aside. Don’t say you’ll just do it next year.
More women’s Final Four tickets were sold than men’s this year. That alone should tell you that it’s worth paying attention to. The women are bound to put on a show whether or not you’re watching, and there’s plenty of madness still to come. You don’t want FOMO, do you?
When you’ve got four screens on, turn some of them to the women’s games. Your brackets are surely busted. Fill out a Women’s Second Chance Bracket instead. Dedicate yourself to both tournaments. It isn’t too late.
The growth in popularity of women’s college hoops is here, and it’s going to continue to grow. Throw in a hand and help it along the way. Campus support is the last piece that’s missing. Get in while it’s blazing hot and add tinder to that flame.