Addressing Issues of Gender and Racial Inequities in Sports
(WIB) – Each year, the NCAA awards 28% of its annual revenue distribution, which comes to more than $160 million—based on Division I men’s basketball teams’ wins and participation in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. Zero dollars are awarded by the NCAA for performance by women’s basketball teams in the Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament.
On Monday, the Knight Commission, an independent group that advocates for change that prioritizes the health and wellbeing of student-athletes, called for the implementation of a gender equity principle that would provide equal rewards for the performance of women’s and men’s teams. The argument has been that the television media contract for the Men’s Tournament is what funds the distribution.