ESPN’s Doris Burke played point guard for Providence in the early 1980s, back when Title IX was so young it barely warranted a Roman numeral. In three weeks she will be in Denver calling the Women’s Final Four. When she looks around, she will see 19,000 people packing the Pepsi Center, and her commentary will be broadcast to 177 countries.
If she smiles, it’s not necessarily for the camera.
“When I played in the 1980s, the only people in the arenas were your family, friends and boyfriend,” Burke said in a recent phone interview. “You can look at a conference like the Big 12 and the sellouts that happen like in Ames, Iowa; Waco, Texas; Norman, Okla.; viewership in the arena and on television has grown.”
But how much has women’s college basketball truly grown?
In many ways, it has grown in leaps as high as Brittney Griner’s dunk. The number of households that watched last year’s Final Four jumped to 2.14 million, a 13 percent increase from the 1.89 million in 2001.
Eighteen lower seeds won games in last year’s NCAA Tournament, the same number as the men. Notre Dame just became the first school besides Connecticut to win an outright Big East title in six years. But, as Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said in a recent interview, “We have a ways to go.”
Yes, women’s college basketball is still the gangly teenager trying to grow into her popularity. While lower seeds are flexing more muscle and Texas A&M won its first national championship in 2011, UConn and Tennessee have won 12 of the last 20 NCAA titles.
The women have had a greater first-round point differential than the men every year over the past two decades, and average attendance for all Division I games is still only about 1,600 fans.
Strong statement
Ten years ago, would women’s basketball make crusty NBA veterans watch? No. Burke remembers the moment this season that transcended hoops gender.
“I am calling a men’s college game at Madison Square Garden on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving,” she said. “Jeff Van Gundy was my partner that night. He said, ‘Where are you going? What are you most looking forward to?’
“I said, ‘Well, the end of the month I’ve got Connecticut-Baylor women.’ He said, ‘Man, I’d love to do that game! Brittney Griner is a force to be reckoned with!’ “
Van Gundy, a former New York Knicks coach, convinced ESPN to let him call the game. He flew to Waco a day early to watch Baylor practice.
“It’s better because there are more good teams than there’ve been,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “More schools have decided to be better at it, so they’ve gotten better just by making that decision.”
Today it’s easier to get better. There are more good players to sign. High school prospects are no longer just going to schools’ summer camps. Their AAU programs are booming year-round.
Casual observers see Griner’s dunking revolutionizing the game. Truth be told, the first woman who dunked in competition was 6-foot-7 Georgeann Wells of West Virginia in 1984. But women are developing in every skill set.
“They’re a lot smarter about the game,” VanDerveer said. “They’re exposed to more. When I went to college, I didn’t know what a pick-and-roll (play) was. Now you have kids who defend a pick and roll seven different ways.”
Also, women’s basketball developed its own 600-pound gorilla in UConn, whose 90-game win streak and two unbeaten national titles in 2009 and 2010 made it as polarizing as the New York Yankees in their glory years.
Did it hurt the game? Help it? You decide. But fans took notice. When Stanford broke the streak last season, 2.1 million viewers watched on ESPN.
“I don’t think anything that draws that much attention to the game is bad,” Auriemma said before adding, sarcastically, “It’s like did UCLA winning 10 national titles in a row hurt or help? It must’ve killed it because basketball is in a miserable place. We’re going through the same growing pains and transformation that the men did.”
More parity, please
Most of the growing pains are experienced in the game’s lower echelon. For every UConn-Baylor game, there are a dozen routs that scream for a mercy rule. The point differential in the NCAAs’ first-round games over the last 20 years is 18.6, compared with 12.9 for men. The lack of parity is a problem.
“Who’s going to be in the Final Four?” said Ceal Barry, Colorado’s all-time winningest coach. “Connecticut, Notre Dame, Baylor and Stanford with an outside chance of Duke and Kentucky. Is that the same way it is for men’s basketball? How does a George Mason get in? How does Virginia Commonwealth get in? Butler?”
In Denver, however, you will get the women’s best. Don’t worry about a blowout. Do worry about finding a seat. While the women’s game still has a ways to climb, in Denver it will look a mile high.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299, or jhenderson@denverpost.com
LOWER SEEDS BEATING HIGHER SEEDS
The women’s game has suffered from a lack of parity. A look at how many lower seeded teams have won in NCAA play in the past 10 years, compared to the men’s field.
Year Men Women
2002 16 12
2003 21 9
2004 16 18
2005 19 14
2006 21 10
2007 12 15
2008 13 10
2009 16 16
2010 18 12
2011 18 18
Totals 170 134
FIRST-ROUND POINT DIFFERENTIAL
Year Men Women
2002 13.5 18.8
2003 11.1 17.6
2004 13.0 16.7
2005 10.5 20.5
2006 10.6 18.4
2007 16.4 20.4
2008 15.3 18.5
2009 13.6 20.0
2010 11.3 17.7
2011 13.2 17.5
TOTALS 12.9 18.6
FINAL FOUR TV RATINGS*
NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS
Year Men Women
2001 10.63 million 1.89 million
2011 10.28 million 2.14 million
NUMBER OF VIEWERS
Year Men Women
2001 15.87 million 2.78 million
2011 15.38 million 2.87 million
* Source: ESPN
Lower seeds vs. higher seeds
Division I women’s basketball has suffered from a lack of parity. A look at how many lower-seeded teams have won in NCAA play in the past 10 years, compared with the men’s tournament:
YearMenWomen200216122003 2192004161820051914200621102007 12152008131020091616201018 12201118 18Totals 170134
First-round point differential
YearMenWomen 200213.518.8200311.117.6200413.0 16.7200510.520.52006 10.6
18.4
200716.420.4200815.3 18.5200913.620.0201011.3 17.7201113.217.5Totals12.918.6
Final Four TV ratings*
Number of households
YearMenWomen200110.63 million1.89 million201110.28 million2.14 million
Number of viewers
Year MenWomen 20015.87 million2.78 million201115.38 million2.87 million
* Source: ESPN
