But once the COVID-19 pandemic exposed some of the cardboard bottoms on the yachts of college athletic departments, it wasn’t hard to see which ships would make it. And which ones would sink.

“I think it����ap likely that you will see some fragmentation among Division I (schools) in particular,” Perko, CEO of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, told The Post. “(And) possibly different structures.

“The college sports model, frankly, it’ll look very different in five or 10 years. But I strongly believe that whatever model that is, we will see a commitment toward opportunities for women and more compliance with Title IX.”

Others aren’t so sure.

Despite Perko’s optimism, a poll of 99 athletic directors taken by the Associated Press a year ago found that 94% of respondents said it “would be somewhat or much more difficult to comply with Title IX gender equity rules if their school were to compensate athletes in the biggest money-making sports.”

As Title IX, the landmark civil rights legislation that prohibits gender discrimination in any school or education program that receives federal funding, turns 50, college athletics as we know it is entering into a state of flux.

Student-athletes can now legally seek to profit off of their respective names, images and likenesses (NIL). The Supreme Court last June voted unanimously in the case of NCAA v. Alston that limits on education-related benefits to students violate anti-trust laws. The court accused the NCAA of “monopoly power” in its opinion and hinted strongly that it viewed the organization’s bedrock definition of amateurism as anachronistic and anti-commerce.

Athletes and boosters are now unfettered in ways they never have been before, and the NCAA’s traditional wardens — university presidents, athletic directors and coaches — have found themselves in varying degrees of panic.

With athletic departments scrambling to protect their bottom lines, as well as some very significant paychecks, will the equal opportunities for women required by Title IX be preserved? Or will non-revenue-producing sports find themselves endangered as the free market for talent creates accelerated bidding wars in football and men’s basketball?

Football’s hold on Division I

In December 2020, Perko’s Knight Commission, a group dedicated to reforms that support and strengthen the educational mission of collegiate sports, recommended FBS football separate itself from the NCAA entirely.

Some administrators have been thinking along the same lines.

And one of them, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, sent shock waves through the collegiate landscape in April when he told Sports Illustrated that a split among Division I universities, a collective that currently includes Colorado, Colorado State, Denver, Northern Colorado and Air Force, is “inevitable” by the 2030s.

“There are so many schools trying to get out of their current conference,” , “and they can’t get there.”

CSU, for example, has made no secret of its desire to leave the Mountain West for a Power 5 conference such as the Big 12 or Pac-12 in order to garner the revenue increases that would go along with it. Conference realignment a decade or so ago was one of the rationales behind the construction of the state-of-the-art Canvas Stadium, which opened in 2017.

But the Big 12 itself is in transition with the departure of tentpole schools Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC. The notion of a so-called college football “Premier League,” in which the best and richest from Power 5 break off for a super conference of their own, not unlike the elite soccer clubs in Europe, was the stuff of fan fiction a generation ago.

But as Perko and Swarbrick noted, the seeds are already being planted. And Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff added more fertilizer to the mix earlier this month by telling The Athletic that he thinks FBS conferences, and not the NCAA, should administer big-time college football from here on out.

If the Buffs and Rams, for example, were to find themselves on the outside looking in when it came to television revenues compared to their current conference peers, it’s hard to imagine that women’s sports, and Title IX enforcement, wouldn’t feel some of the trickle-down effects. But how much? And how soon?

“Title IX pertains to our entire university. It����ap the law,” CU athletic director Rick George told The Post. “It����ap not like we can go out and say each sport is going to be able to do whatever it (likes) and not think there’s going to be Title IX implications.”

Seismic changes loom

With the NCAA limping into this decade as a wounded animal and decades-old notions of what constituted a “student-athlete” being redefined, college sports finds itself in a period of potentially seismic change.

And some seismic sticker shock.

According to data provided by CU to the NCAA for the 2019-20 fiscal year, the last football season unaffected by COVID-19, the Buffs received $21.94 million for its broadcast rights, including revenues shared by Pac-12 members.

The athletic department was bestowed $9.29 million in league distributions outside of broadcast and bowl revenues. Total operating expenses for all women’s sports programs, meanwhile, were $10.59 million, compared to

Wherever the college sports train veers from here, regardless of budgetary concerns, George stressed, he believes Title IX will continue to be one of its lasting guardrails.

“And as we continue to move forward,” George continued, “as the NCAA continues to move forward, as we look at what the industry looks like — and that����ap coming by the end of the year — Title IX is going to be extremely applicable to that new structure. Whatever it is.”

George added that through the university’s NIL exchange, Buffs volleyball blocker Sterling Parker and skier Kaitlyn Harsch recently joined a partnership with Fowler Automotive, while sprinter Jaida Drame launched her own clothing line, Drame Apparel.

“It’s important that every school does look to ensure that student-athletes, both male and female, have the same access points and same opportunities as the other (gender),” George said.

But in order to preserve those opportunities for women’s sports, exposure is critical.

And that matters on both a national and regional scale, said Fran Belibi, a senior forward on the Stanford women’s basketball team and former Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year at Regis Jesuit.

“There are so many ways we could start to consider things more equal if we started with something as simple as news coverage and putting women on (television broadcasts) as often as men,” Belibi said. “That goes a long way with the fight for equal pay and more opportunities, hopefully. …

“I think something as simple as just putting people on TV more often can show that there are more women playing, that there are more women that are part of sports … and if we can do it in sports, maybe we can start to do it in the world.”

The NCAA currently awards more than $160 million in revenue to its members, roughly 28% of its annual distribution, based on bids and wins in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament — but no money from similar achievements on the women’s side.

A 2021 report commissioned by the NCAA Board of Governors and authored by attorney Roberta Kaplan, founder of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, declared that the organization’s revenue distribution model was “inconsistent with the NCAA’s stated commitment to gender equity.”

SB-1401, or the College Athlete Race and Gender Equity Act, was introduced by the California legislature this past February with the purpose of funneling money generated by big-time college sports out of the hands of conferences and universities and into the student-athletes providing the competition and entertainment.

But the devil was in the details. In simplest terms, SB-1401 would have required California colleges whose sports produce significant revenue to split the profits with the student-athletes involved. Administrators complained that said revenue currently earmarked to help pay for Olympic sports and women’s sports would instead have to be set aside for football and men’s basketball players.

The bill stalled in the Senate, but its proponents, including the National College Players Association, are pushing to get it back onto California’s agenda no later than 2023.

“(My hope is) that (legislators) will think about all the sports,” Belibi said. “Because I don’t think it����ap valid to quantify who’s worth more — sure, sometimes, football brings in the money. But we’re all out there working. So I think we all deserve the opportunity to profit off that hard work.”

“Untapped potential”

Despite the reservations of some athletic directors, Perko remains confident that the deregulatory forces that have sided with student-athletes’ rights will also be sympathetic toward gender equity in the decades to come.

“I do think that non-profit organizations, especially with the NCAA universities that have a mission of higher education, are going to move more quickly to resolve Title IX issues and non-compliance,” Perko said.

“I also think, from a business standpoint, people are recognizing the untapped potential for women’s sports, and there are a lot of metrics you can point to that show that potential — just looking at the sports (on television) right now, the Women’s College World Series, you look at the TV ratings for that event, and they just continue to soar. And there’s the growth of women’s soccer.

“You can really trace that back to when many schools realized that they needed to add more opportunities for women in college sports.”

While Title IX’s impact is more often cited for its impact on gender equity in sports, it����ap also designed to safeguard students from discrimination in forums that include sexual harassment, employment, discipline, financial assistance, admissions and recruitment.

But administrations have added amendments to the bill since. The Trump administration included provisions requiring accusers in sexual assault complaints to be cross-examined. A federal judge recently struck down those provisions.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona’s additions to the law, which would reportedly include protections based on gender identity and sexual orientation, are expected to be made public soon.

“I think on the whole if you look at the opportunities that we’ve created and women who have excelled with those opportunities, having equal opportunity is embedded in our culture,” Perko said.

“We may see tweaks to the model. We may see different models. But we’re never going back to the standards of yesteryear, in terms of the lack of opportunity.”

“What really got me was their approach behind it,” Belibi, the Stanford women’s basketball forward and former Regis Jesuit star, said of the commercial she filmed earlier this year endorsing the popular restaurant chain. “They were talking about elevating groups or individuals who often don’t get the first opportunities (for exposure).”

Once the partnership with the company included a donation of $25,000 to the Women’s Sports Foundation on behalf of “Super Slam Fran,” the first Colorado women’s high school basketball player to dunk in a game and one of only eight to ever dunk in a Division I women’s college hoops game, the deal was sealed.

“Even having a small chance to help with something like that is what really struck me,” Belibi told The Post recently. “I had to say, ‘Yes.’”

As part of a spot promoting Denny’s “Super Slam” breakfast, the 6-foot-1 Belibi is seen leaping over a gigantic plate of pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and hash browns, basketball in hand, then dunking the ball on a hoop stationed on the other side of said plate.

In reality, the Centennial native was filmed dunking on a smaller-than-regulation hoop in front of a green screen at a studio in Northern California.

“I wasn’t (really) moving across,” Belibi explained. “The way that the commercial shows it, it looks really crazy and insane and on a wire, but it was the green screen and the movie magic and some Photoshop.”

Belibi said she’s had other branding opportunities now that the NCAA allows student-athletes to profit off of their individual name, image and likeness, or NIL, but Denny’s contribution to the WSF, a nonprofit founded by tennis legend Billie Jean King, pushed it over the top.

While athletes such as Belibi, who have large social media followings, have attracted the interest of companies entering NIL partnerships, female student-athlete NIL dollars and opportunities still lag behind their male counterparts, according to one study.

Opendorse, a Nebraska-based NIL branding and marketing company, reported that as of May 31, clientele from women’s collegiate sports made up 26.5% of the company’s total Division I NIL compensation (compared to 73.5% for men), 32.1% of total compensation for Division II, and 17.1% of compensation for Division III.

Among specific sports, football dwarfed the rest of the field, making up almost half — 49.9% of the company’s total NIL compensation. Men’s basketball was next at 17.0%, with women’s hoops, at 15.7%, close behind. Women’s volleyball (2.3%) and softball (2.1%) rounded out the company’s top 5 sports.

Belibi said she couldn’t have made the leap — computer-generated or otherwise — from student-athlete to commercial star without Title IX, which turns 50 later this month.

“A lot of the times, when I think of Title IX, it����ap kind of just in sports, just the idea that (the playing field) has to be equal,” Belibi said. “I think this year, especially, I’m learning that Title IX is about equality in every (area) … so just the opportunity to even be able to go to school and get an education and further myself in that regard is thanks to Title IX.

“I recognize that basketball has given me so much. I’ve been able to travel the world and I’ve met so many cool people and I’ve done so many cool things … I’m super grateful for what it����ap afforded me. And what it will afford people after me.”

Doors that had once been closed in athletics and academia were suddenly jarred loose, making way for five decades of progress that have allowed Colorado women to reach heights once believed to be unreachable. Yet inequities remain in a state that’s produced its fair share of elite female athletes but still doesn’t have a major professional women’s sports team within its borders.

As Title IX approaches its 50th birthday, The Denver Post series looks back at some of Colorado’s greatest female athletes, examines the effect the landmark legislation has had on the state and also looks ahead to an uncertain future.

Colorado is producing some of the world’s best female athletes 50 years after embracing Title IX

As Title IX hits its 50th anniversary, The Denver Post celebrates the legacy of Colorado’s best female athletes and how a state with a progressive attitude toward women’s sports allowed players to succeed. Read more…

What will it take to bring women’s professional sports to Colorado?

Colorado does not have any major women’s sports leagues: NWSL, PHF or WNBA. Its absence is especially glaring in pro soccer with several homegrown talents — Lindsey Horan, Jaelin Howell, Mallory Pugh and Sophia Smith. Noelle Phillips and Kyle Fredrickson explore what it would take to bring a pro team to the Mile High City. Read more…

Colorado women continue to face harassment, discrimination in schools despite five decades of “equality” under Title IX

Title IX has evolved since it was signed in 1972. Noelle Phillips reports on how the law forces schools to respond to sexual discrimination, harassment or assault and how schools continue to fall short when it comes to protecting female students. Read more…

Future of women’s college sports uncertain as battle over money threatens amateur model

Will the equal opportunities for women required by Title IX be preserved as non-revenue-producing sports find themselves endangered by the free market for talent? Sean Keeler dives into the issue. Read more…

Regis Jesuit star Fran Belibi says she couldn’t make the leap to starring in commercials without Title IX as springboard

While individual athletes such as Stanford’s Fran Belibi have attracted the interest of companies entering NIL deals, female student-athlete NIL dollars and opportunities still lag behind their male counterparts. Read more…

The Top 50 most influential women in Colorado sports history

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, we ranked the Top 50 most influential women in Colorado sports history. Check back on Friday to read the list. Read more…

Title IX through the decades

In the five decades since Title IX was passed, here are five athletes who helped shape their time:

• 1970s: Carol Baily
• 1980s: Tanya Haave
• 1990s: Ceal Barry
• 2000s: Caryn Jarocki
• 2010s: Lindsey Horan

Vintage photo found in a Denver thrift store shows a Victorian-era women’s basketball team played in Colorado just one year after the game was invented

The history behind this vintage photo shows that the team played its first game in 1892, just one year after basketball was invented.

����ap: It most certainly wasn’t equal, but my high school teams meant everything

Playing sports just 12 years after Title IX was signed into law involved unequal treatment and uninterested coaches. Times have changed since then and Noelle Phillips reflects on the experience and wonders what could have been if she’d been born a decade later. Read more…

1. 1. Mikaela Shiffrin (skiing) —��The most decorated American alpine skier with four World Cups and six world championships, more than any other female, and two gold medals in three Olympics.
   2. Missy Franklin (swimming) —��Five-time gold medalist and former world record holder in the 200-meter backstroke who became a star at the 2012 London Olympics.
   3. Lindsey Vonn (skiing) —��Won four World Cup titles and the gold medal in downhill at the ��2010 Vancouver Games, setting the standard for American women’s skiing only Shiffrin has matched.
   4. Babe Didrikson Zaharias (multisport) —��A star basketball player, Olympic medalist in track, and a golf champion who broke gender stereotypes is considered one of America’s greatest female athletes.
   5. Lindsey Horan (soccer) —��Turned pro straight out of Golden High and didn’t look back, becoming a centerpiece on the U.S. Women’s National team and a star in leagues here and abroad.
   6. Amy Van Dyken (swimming) —��Owner of six Olympic gold medals, including four in Atlanta in 1996, as part of a prolific career that saw her inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.
   7. Becky Hammon (basketball) —��Starred at Colorado State before playing in the WNBA and abroad, then became the NBA’s first full-time female assistant coach; now head coach of WNBA’s Aces.
   8. Emma Coburn (running) —��A three-time national champion at CU and three-time Olympian, the Crested Butte product took bronze in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
   9. Ceal Barry (basketball) — The CU women’s coach from 1983 to 2005 brought the Buffs to relevance while amassing a 427–242 record and four Big Eight coach of the year awards.
   10. Fran Belibi (basketball) —��Belibi became a sensation for her dunking feats while at Regis Jesuit, and is now a star at Stanford, where she won a national title.
   11. April Heinrichs (soccer) —��The Denver native starred at North Carolina, captained the U.S. team that won the first-ever Women’s World Cup in 1991, then coached the national team for five years.
   12. Mallory Pugh (soccer) — The phenom debuted for the USWNT at age 17 and later became the youngest to score a goal for the U.S. in an Olympic contest in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
   13. Jennifer Kupcho (golf) —��After dominating at Jefferson Academy (two Class 4A state titles) and Wake Forest (2018 Division I champion), she turned pro and won her first LPGA major this spring.
   14. Adeline Gray (wrestling) — The first American woman to win six world championships, Gray is a two-time Olympian (silver in 2020) and the first woman to have her own signature wrestling shoe.
   15. Connie Carpenter Phinney (cycling) —��A cycling icon who won gold in the road race in the 1984 Olympics and 12 national titles. She also competed in the 1972 Winter Games as a speed skater.
   16. Dorothy Mauk (sportswriting) — Became the first full-time female sportswriter at a major U.S. daily newspaper when she was hired by The Denver Post in 1966.
   17. Caryn Jarocki (basketball) —��Colorado’s all-time winningest girls basketball coach is 698-193 over 37 seasons between Highlands Ranch and Colorado Academy with seven state titles.
   18. Carol Callan (basketball) —��Spent 25 years as the women’s national team director, overseeing seven gold medals. The Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer also led Fairview to a state title.
   19. Tanya Haave (basketball/volleyball) —��A two-sport star at Evergreen and Tennessee, where she was an All-American in basketball before going into coaching; currently Metro State’s head coach.
   20. Katie Uhlaender (skeleton) —��Vail native has won six medals at the world championships, including two gold, while setting the American standard in the sport as a five-time Olympian.
   21. Laurice Hunter (volleyball) —The architect of the Evergreen volleyball dynasty, “Lo” led the Cougars to nine state titles, including eight in a row while also amassing a 182-match win streak.
   22. Jenny Simpson (running) —��Won a national title at CU before running in three Olympics; won a bronze medal in the 1,500 in 2016 in Rio; also won the 2011 world championship.
   23. Phyllis Lockwood (multisport) —��A barrier-breaker in tennis, basketball, swimming, track-and-field, and softball, the Fort Morgan native is one of the state’s most well-rounded athletes ever.
   24. Tracy Hill (basketball) —��The former Ridgeway star still holds the CHSAA career scoring record (2,934); played collegiately and then in Australia, also coached Nucla girls to the 1998 state title.
   25. Rose Namajunas (MMA) —��One of the best fighters to train in Colorado, she’s ascended in the mixed martial arts world and is a two-time UFC women’s strawweight champion.
   26. Peggy Fleming��(figure skating)��—��Gold medalist in the 1968 Winter Olympics and a three-time World Champion; Denver resident then transitioned into a broadcasting career.
   27. Joan Birkland (tennis, golf) —�� Won more than a dozen state titles on the women’s tennis circuit and was one of the state’s top golfers for a decade; executive director of Sportswomen of Colorado.
   28. Ann Strother (basketball) — The 2002 Gatorade national player of the year out of Highlands Ranch, Strother won two NCAA titles with UConn before playing in the WNBA and overseas.
   29. Abby Waner (basketball) —��Former ThunderRidge star (2005 Gatorade national player of the year) built on the hype Strother established; Waner played at Duke and then briefly in the WNBA.
   30. Caryl Gilbert Smith (track) —��The George Washington sprinter was a five-time state champion and former indoor national record holder; three-time All-American at UCLA, now USC’s head coach.
   31. Valarie Allman (discus) —��The Silver Creek High alum won the gold medal in discus at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and was a seven-time All-American at Stanford.
   32. Shelly Sheetz (basketball) —��CU’s point guard from 1991-95 was the first Buffs player to be named a Kodak All-American (1995); went on to career in coaching.
   33. Nicole Hensley (hockey) —��Lakewood native won a gold medal at the Olympics in 2018 and then a silver medal in 2022; has also played in various professional leagues/circuits.
   34. Arielle Gold (snowboarding) —��Steamboat Springs native is a two-time Olympian, debuting in Sochi in 2014 before earning bronze in the halfpipe in 2018 in PyeongChang.
   35. Shelly Pennefather (basketball) —��An All-American basketball player for Machebeuf in the early 1980s, and then a college All-American at Villanova; she went on to become a nun.
   36. Wendy Koenig (running) —��Middle-distance runner who competed in the 1972 Munich Olympics after graduating from Estes Park High; All-American in the 800 and 1,500 at CSU.
   37. Judy Bell (golf) —��The Colorado Springs resident was the first woman elected president of the United States Golf Association in 1996; that was preceded by an accomplished pro career.
   38. Carol Baily (tennis) —��The Colorado tennis legend and Phyllis Lockwood’s protegee won a combined 41 singles and doubles titles across Colorado’s three major tournaments.
   39. Rhonda Blanford-Green (track/CHSAA) —��Starred at Aurora Central in sprints and hurdles and was an All-American at Nebraska before becoming CHSAA’s��first female commissioner in 2017.
   40. Janine Beckie (soccer) —��Valor Christian alum won Olympic gold with Team Canada in Tokyo after starring at Texas Tech and has played in leagues in the U.S. and abroad.
   41. Barbara McIntire (golf) —��Won the U.S. Women’s Amateur title in 1959 and 1964; the six-time Curtis Cup player captained the winning 1976 U.S. Curtis Cup team.
   42. Patty Childress (volleyball) — Longtime volleyball coach at Otis, Palisade and Grandview amassed a 493-169 record and five Class 5A state titles with Grandview.
   43. T.R. Ellis (volleyball) —��Longtime volleyball coach at Olathe, Douglas County and Chaparral, where she won Class 5A state championships in 2010 and 2011.
   44. Michaela Onyenwere (basketball) —��Grandview alum and UCLA standout was the No. 6 overall pick by the New York Liberty in 2021, and was WNBA Rookie of the Year in her debut season.
   45. Haleigh Washington (volleyball) —��The Doherty product played middle on the gold medal team in Tokyo in 2020, after starring at Penn State, and also played professionally in Italy.
   46. Jordyn Poulter (volleyball) — The Eaglecrest product was a setter on the gold medal team in Tokyo after starring at Illinois, and has won an array of other international team titles.
   47. Jaelin Howell (soccer) —��Fossil Ridge High product was a two-time Hermann Trophy winner at Florida State; No. 2 overall pick in 2022 NWSL Draft and an up-and-coming USWNT member.
   48. Erin Popovich (swimming) —��The CSU alum has competed in three Paralympics, winning three gold medals, three silver medals and setting four world records at the 2000 Paralympic Games.
   49. Sophia Smith (soccer) —��The Fossil Ridge alum played for Real Colorado before winning the 2019 national title at Stanford and being selected No. 1 overall in the 2020 NWSL Draft.
   50. Allison Dunlap (mountain biking) —��Won the world cross-country mountain bike championship in 2001, is a three-time national cross-country champion, and competed at the 1996 Olympics.

Belibi, who starred at Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, obliged at last on the big March Madness stage, blocking a shot at the 3-point line then driving the length of the floor to slam the ball home with one hand for her third career dunk. The play thrilled her teammates and the awestruck home crowd in the second quarter of top-seeded Stanford’s 78-37 win against 16th-seeded Montana State on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

CAN YOU Belibi IT… She just DUNK'D ! x

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB)

“It����ap really funny because I dunk all the time and when I look back at pictures everyone is still just as excited as if it����ap their first time seeing it,” Belibi said. “So it����ap really cool to see that on their faces. They’ve been getting on me all year about not dunking so far. The freshmen have been like, ‘We came here for this so where is it?’ So it was really cool to get it and make it happen and just get engulfed. I felt really loved.”

Belibi’s dunk was the first by a woman in the NCAA Tournament since Brittney Griner did it in 2013 and just the third overall along with Candace Parker’s feat in 2006. A 6-foot-1 junior who routinely dunks in warmups and practice, Belibi had a pair of slams last season — on Dec. 13, 2020, at rival California in Berkeley and a week later at UCLA.

This stage is a little different and far bigger, with the Cardinal back on their familiar home floor in the tournament����ap early rounds for the first time in three years. Belibi’s teammates went crazy and the delighted fans gave her a roaring standing ovation during a timeout shortly afterward. She finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes.

“Super proud of Fran, I know we were super hyped for her,” Hull said.

Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer had one concern afterward: Belibi didn’t get back fast enough and her defensive assignment scored a layup.

“I’m really happy for her and the team was crazy in the locker room for her,” VanDerveer said. “… I’m glad Fran provided a spark for us.”

In similar fashion — just without the above-the-rim theatrics — Cameron Brink began the game with two blocked shots that led to her own layups on the other end, and the sophomore star finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

Stanford began a daunting title defense by winning its 21st consecutive game; its last defeat was 65-61 to No. 1 South Carolina on Dec. 21. The Cardinal (29-3) will play Sunday against No. 8 seed Kansas (21-9), a 77-58 winner against ninth-seeded Georgia Tech in Friday’s first game.

Brink had five points, three blocks and five rebounds before the Bobcats (22-13) even got on the board with their first points early in the second quarter as Stanford went on to its third-largest tournament victory margin in program history.

Lexie Hull had 13 points and five assists and Hannah Jump scored 15 for a balanced Cardinal team that went 16-0 through the Pac-12 regular season and won the conference tournament.

Taylor Janssen scored 12 for the Big Sky Conference Tournament champions, who came into the game averaging 70 points per game but faced a Stanford squad that hasn’t allowed any opponent to score more than 77 since the end of the 2019-20 season.

“That was a first,” Janssen said of Belibi’s highlight-reel move. “I’ve never been a game where someone dunked, that was really cool.”

Montana State missed its initial 21 shots spanning the first two quarters and trailed 23-0 before Janssen’s layup at the 9:15 mark of the second.

“If you’re a No. 1 seed and let a team hang around anything can happen,” VanDerveer said. “You can’t let a team hang around so jump right on them.”

GETTING DEFENSIVE

The scoreless first quarter by Stanford’s defense is the first in the Cardinal’s storied history for any period and just the second ever in the NCAA Tournament.

South Carolina did it against Texas in the 2021 tournament.

“I think in the middle of the quarter not necessarily something, ‘Oh, we can do this this quarter’ but taking every possession seriously,” Hull said of the defensive focus.

BIG PICTURE

Montana State: The Bobcats, playing in their third ever NCAA Tournament, missed their first 12 3-point tries and went 4 for 24 from deep overall. … Montana State 17th-year coach Tricia Binford notched her 15th straight winning season. She called it a great week for her team “getting better.”

Stanford: Lacie Hull had four of Stanford’s 16 steals. … The Cardinal held a 56-33 rebounding advantage. … Stanford scored seven points off Montana State’s five first-quarter turnovers and forced 17 in all while committing 16. … The Cardinal improved to 15-1 at home this season.

Like Beyoncé once proclaimed: Who run the world? Girls.

The proof was on display inside the Denver Coliseum for the CHSAA state basketball tournament with a Class 5A championship game featuring two McDonald’s All-American centers: Grandview’s Lauren Betts and Valor Christian’s Raegan Beers. It marked another proud chapter of Colorado girls hoops history. The boys are left playing catch-up.

“I’ve grown up watching amazing basketball here in Colorado. I’m trying to continue that legacy,” said Betts, the top-ranked senior prospect in the country. “It����ap going to keep getting better.”

The numbers back her up.

In the 2022 recruiting cycle, , there were 13 high school girls in Colorado to earn Division I basketball scholarships: Arapahoe’s Sam Crispe (Boston), Chaparral’s Avery Bang (Northern Colorado), Chatfield’s Grace Talbot (UC-San Diego), Erie’s Grace Moyers (Wyoming), Grandview’s Marya Hudgins (Santa Clara) and Betts (Stanford), Highlands Ranch’s Alex Pirog (Montana), Lewis-Palmer’s Griffin Greenwood (Air Force), Mullen’s Kilah Freelon (Texas Tech), Grace Gallegos (UC-San Diego) and Imani Perez (Hawaii), Pueblo West����ap Gabby Louther (UC-San Diego), and Beers (Oregon State) at Valor.

“It����ap so amazing, that in a state that is not a super large state that we have such a big impact on the national level,” said Valor head coach Jessika Caldwell.�� “That’s what is going to keep young talent invested because we’ve had such consistency from year to year and big-time players.”

Now, flip to the boys brackets. The boys state tournament field, while talented with high-caliber teams and outstanding coaches, lacked the girls’ star power.

Only three CHSAA boys players from the 2022 recruiting cycle were signed to Division I basketball scholarships: Lewis-Palmer’s Cameron Lowe (Air Force), ThunderRidge’s Zach Keller (Wake Forest) and Rocky Mountain’s Aidan Kuhl (North Alabama).

One major culprit for the talent disparity? An emergence of boys basketball-focused prep schools. Several of the state’s top players opted out of CHSAA to join nontraditional programs that organize academics around rigorous athletic schedules.

Denver East, a Class 5A state semifinalist, did not have senior guard Langston Reynolds in the tournament. Seventh-seeded Horizon was missing senior forward Brock Wisne. Both players transferred to Colorado Prep last season and are signed to play in college at Northern Colorado. Two more star sophomores who won state titles a year ago — Baye Fall at Lutheran and Assane Diop at Belleview Christian — transferred to Denver Prep Academy. Both later left the program. The list goes on.

But not every blue-chip prospect in the state bolted from their neighborhood school. Keller, a four-star recruit, explained why he chose to stick with ThunderRidge.

“I prioritize loyalty and I was getting looks through AAU,” Keller said. “The prep route didn’t seem appealing.”

There are fewer prep school options for girls basketball nationally. None are currently established in Colorado. That helps keep talented players in the state tournament. But for how much longer?

“I know there are a lot of girls prep teams,” Betts said. “I’ve never considered it. I’ve always wanted to stay at Grandview. But that����ap obviously something that����ap probably going to continue growing in the women’s game.”

Colorado has a rich tradition for developing elite girls basketball players. Since 2010, the state has landed 16 players on ESPN’s Top-100 recruit rankings list. The boys over that same span in Colorado? Five.

Beyonce was right.

“I want the next generation to understand how important women’s basketball is over here,” Betts said. “We’ve got to continue to inspire those young girls. They’re going to want to get to the next level as well.”

ESPN TOP-100 NATIONAL RECRUITS SINCE 2010, COLORADO GIRLS BASKETBALL

• C Lauren Betts, Grandview (‘22): No. 1 national prospect, signed to Stanford
• C Raegan Beers, Valor Christian (‘22): No. 10 national prospect, signed to Oregon State
• PG Kindyll Wetta, Valor Christian (‘21): No. 82 national prospect, signed to Colorado
• PG Avery Van Sickle, Regis Jesuit (‘21): No. 85 national prospect, signed to Washington
• C Addison O’Grady, Grandview (‘21): No. 92 national prospect, signed to Iowa
• PG Jana Van Gytenbeek, Cherry Creek (’20): No. 39 national prospect, signed to Stanford
• C Ashten Prechtel, Discovery Canyon (’19): No. 15 national prospect, signed to Stanford
• F Fran Belibi, Regis Jesuit (’19): No. 19 national prospect, signed to Stanford
• F Camilla Emsbo, Lakewood (’18): No. 50 national prospect, signed to Yale
• F Michaela Onyenwere, Grandview (’17): No. 10 national prospect, signed to UCLA
• C Kylee Shook, Mesa Ridge (’16): No. 17 national prospect, signed to Louisville
• PG Justine Hall, Regis Jesuit (’14): No. 74 national prospect, signed to Purdue
• F Lauren Huggins, Heritage (’12): No. 64 national prospect, signed to Colorado
• F Alexus Johnson, Monarch (’12): No. 72 national prospect, signed to Grambling State
• F Katie Heckman, Regis Jesuit (’12): No. 80 national prospect, signed to Duke
• F Kara Spotton, Rocky Mountain (’11): No. 98 national prospect, signed to Colorado State

TOTAL: 16

ESPN TOP-100 NATIONAL RECRUITS SINCE 2010, COLORADO BOYS BASKETBALL

• F D’Shawn Schwartz, Sand Creek (’17): No. 71 national prospect, signed to Colorado
• F De’Ron Davis, Overland (’16): No. 52 national prospect, signed to Indiana
• F Ronnie Harrell, Denver East (’14): No. 71 national prospect, signed to Creighton
• PG Dominique Collier, Denver East (’14): No. 85 national prospect, signed to Colorado
• C Josh Scott, Monument (‘12): No. 38 national prospect, signed to Colorado

TOTAL: 5

* Notable: Former ESPN Top-100 recruits Josh Perkins (Regis Jesuit) and Alpha Diallo (Denver West) transferred to out-of-state prep schools and did not graduate in Colorado.

The former Regis Jesuit High School star turned NCAA champion at Stanford is at the forefront of prominent female athletes cashing in on the growth of name, image and likeness (NIL) endorsement deals in college sports. Belibi partnered with Denny’s for its “Super Slam Fran” promotion. Watch her dunk a basketball over a stack of pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs and hashbrowns .

“It����ap pretty cool,” Belibi said.��“I’m super honored.”

But this NIL deal doesn’t end at breakfast. It showcases an evolving trend with student athletes empowered to leverage their brand while advocating for personal causes.

Denny’s sponsorship also provides a $25,000 donation to the Women’s Sports Foundation. The nonprofit started in 1974 by former tennis champion Billie Jean King has a mission to “enable all girls and women to reach their potential in sports and life.”

“For me, the biggest part of the deal that really spoke to me is how they’re donating to the Women’s Sports Foundation,” Belibi said. “Being able to be in a position to get a NIL deal and put myself out there has been spectacular. The second part of helping women’s sports, that����ap what really drew my eye.

“Billie Jean King shouted me out. It might have been the highlight of my year.”

The WSF, in a statement provided to The Denver Post, said: “Athletes like Fran Belibi continue to inspire us all with their tremendous talent. We so appreciate Denny’s support of the Women’s Sports Foundation’s mission to create equality and opportunities for girls and women in sport. Seeing major brands like Denny’s invest in women’s sports and athletes is important, as it inspires young girls and reminds sponsors and media that investing in women’s sports is smart business and long overdue.”

There is significant momentum for female college athletes such as Belibi in the NIL era.

LSU All-American gymnast Olivia Dunne has more than 5-million combined followers on Instagram and TikTok. She’s reportedly earned over the past year from clothing and nutrition brands. The Cavinder twins — — are Fresno State basketball standouts who also leveraged massive social media followings to become some of the highest NIL earners in the nation behind well-established companies like Eastbay and WWE wrestling.

The emerging visibility of high-profile women in college sports is considered welcome growth to Iciss Tillis. The 2004 first-round WNBA draft pick (Duke) is now an associate attorney at Hall-Estill in Tulsa who offers guidance to athletes and businesses pursuing NIL deals.

“It����ap really good marketing for women’s sports. People have been looking for that a long time,” Tillis said. “What really has given women a foot in the door here is social media. A lot of these athletes have a huge social media presence. It����ap putting the onus on the student athlete to take control of their own marketing and showing different aspects of themselves.”

Belibi has taken full advantage of NIL while also promoting women in sports. Belibi shared her Denny’s advertisement last month to . She already anticipates your next question: Do you get free pancakes?

“I don’t, unfortunately,” she said. “But I’ll be going there.”

Grandview High School’s Lauren Betts and Valor Christian’s Raegan Beers were selected to participate in the 2022 edition of annual event featuring the nation’s top 24 senior girls basketball players. The game will be played March 29 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

The two senior post players are ranked in the top 10 of the , with 6-foot-7 Betts the top-rated senior in the country and the 6-3 Beers coming in at No. 10.

Betts, who signed a letter of intent to play for Stanford next fall, is averaging 14.0 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game for the second-ranked Wolves this season. She has 285 career blocked shots in addition to career totals of 1,242 points and 810 rebounds.

Beers, who is committed to Oregon State, returned from a knee injury that took away her junior season to average career-highs in points (21.0), rebounds (14.0) and steals (2.9) per game for top-ranked Valor. Despite playing just two-and-a-half seasons, she’s scored 1,189 points and grabbed 774 rebounds.

With the selections of Betts and Beers, Colorado has now had five players named McDonald’s All-Americans since 2017. Grandview forward Michaela Onyenwere (UCLA) was chosen in 2017, while Regis Jesuit forward Fran Belibi (Stanford) and Discovery Canyon post Ashten Prechtel (Stanford) were selected in 2019.

The McDonald’s All-American game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Introducing to the court, the McDAAG Class of ‘22. Welcome to the big leagues, we’re hyped to have you.

— McDonald's All American Games (@McDAAG)

DuBois didn’t root for the Buffs. She cheered on the other Colorado team. Her colorful hand-written letters on white poster board told the story: ‘Welcome home Jana, Fran and Ashten.’

“I am so in awe,” DuBois said. “It����ap so cool.”

No. 2 Stanford rallied for a 60-52 victory to give the No. 22 Buffaloes their first loss of the season. Three Cardinal players are Colorado high school products — Fran Belibi (Regis Jesuit), Jana Van Gytenbeek (Cherry Creek) and Ashten Prechtel (Discovery Canyon) — whose success as reigning college national champions has inspired a new generation of youth players back home.

“It����ap very empowering,” Van Gytenbeek said. “Showing little girls that they can do this is really awesome. It makes me want to play even more.”

Prechtel added: “Coming back and playing Colorado is always a tough game. But it����ap one of my favorites. I look forward to it every year.”

DuBois met Van Gytenbeek through a Cherry Creek basketball teammate during the Bruins’ 2019 run to a 5A state championship victory. A friendship blossomed. And now DuBois tunes into the live-streamed Stanford basketball game.

But she joined family and friends Friday night to watch Van Gytenbeek from the third row behind Stanford’s bench.

“Her excitement level is beyond a 10,” said Leah’s father, Keith DuBois. “I was actually expecting tears.”

Stanford turned to all three of its Colorado stars off the bench against CU. The trio combined to score 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor. Van Gytenbeek drained her lone 3-point attempt. Belibi was especially active with seven rebounds. Prechtel recorded 10 points and two blocks, with a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

“I’m really proud of our team and we had great contributions from our three Colorado players,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “Jana came in and hit a big three. I thought Fran really helped us defensively and rebounding. … Ashten hit some big shots for us.”

The end result Friday proved especially sweet for DuBois, who never doubted a Stanford win. Cardinal players with Colorado roots are proud to represent their state while playing for a traditional basketball powerhouse.

“It����ap always great to come back home,” Belibi said. “It almost makes it feel like it might not necessarily be an away game because we’re here and this is where we’ve grown up. … It’s always an honor to find yourself in a position where you are the people that you used to look up to. Seeing the signs and all the little girls that come out here (to watch) makes us take a step back and remember that everything we do is bigger than basketball.”

After 17 seasons, eight title game appearances and three state championships with the Raiders, Mattei was informed by the school that he was being dismissed one victory shy of career win No. 400.

Mattei said the school’s decision caught him by surprise Thursday morning. He declined to answer questions from The Post, but did release a statement highlighting his many accomplishments at Regis Jesuit.

“The standard has been set and the bar is set even higher as the new administration pushes their cancel culture to the Jesuit community in Aurora,” the last sentence of Mattei’s statement read.

When contacted by The Post, Regis Jesuit administrators released their own statement addressing Mattei’s dismissal but also declined to answer questions.

“Today, Regis Jesuit High School decided to end its relationship with the head coach of the Varsity Girls Basketball Team, Carl Mattei. Coach Mattei has been an integral part of the RJ Girls Basketball Program since its inaugural season in 2004-05. Since that time, the program has become one of the most competitive and successful in the state,” the statement read.

“At Regis Jesuit, we look beyond wins and losses and seek adult mentors who care for the holistic development of our students and programs. The termination of our agreement with Coach Mattei is the result of a growing lack of alignment with RJ leadership regarding the vision for the program and its support of the school’s mission.”

The school said it has already started its search for a replacement, and expects to have one in place before the 2021-22 season starts. Whoever Regis chooses will have some big shoes to fill.

The first and only coach in program history, Mattei guided Regis to a run of nine straight Final Fours at one point during his tenure. His teams won state titles in 2009, ’13 and ’14, with the latter finishing the season ranked No. 3 in the nation.

Mattei also sent 44 players on to Division I programs, with three named Gatorade state player of the year — Justine Hall, Diani Akigbogun and Fran Belibi.

Belibi, who was also selected as a McDonald’s All-American, became the second girl to win the event’s slam dunk contest in 2019 and won a national title with the Stanford Cardinal last spring.

The Raiders reached the Class 5A title game during last year’s COVID-shortened season, upsetting top-ranked Grandview (73-69) in the semifinals before losing to Valor Christian (67-42) in the championship.

His 400th career win appeared to be a lock with Regis prior to Thursday. Now it will have to come at a different school.

The Post’s Sean Keeler contributed to this report.