The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, sometimes referred to as Women's March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 76 women's college basketball teams from the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), to determine the national championship.
The tournament was preceded by the AIAW women's basketball tournament, which was organized by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) from 1972 to 1982. Basketball was one of 12 women's sports added to the NCAA championship program for the 1981–82 school year, as the NCAA engaged in battle with the AIAW for sole governance of women's collegiate sports. The AIAW continued to conduct its established championship program in the same 12 (and other) sports; however, after a year of dual women's championships, the NCAA prevailed, while the AIAW disbanded.
As of the upcoming 2027 edition, the tournament follows almost exactly the same format and selection process as its men's counterpart, with 32 automatic bids awarded to the champions of the Division I conferences, and 44 "at-large bids" extended by the NCAA Selection Committee, which are placed into four regional divisions and seeded from 1 to 16. The 12 lowest-seeded automatic bids, and the 12 lowest-seeded at-large bids, compete in the Opening Round games to advance to the 64-team bracket in the first round. The national semi-finals, branded as the Women's Final Four, are traditionally scheduled on the same weekend as the men's Final Four, but in a different host city. Presently, the Women's Final Four uses a Friday/Sunday scheduling, with its games occurring one day prior to the men's Final Four and championship, respectively.
Attendance and interest in the women's championship have grown over the years, especially from 2003 to 2016, when the final championship game was moved to the Tuesday following the Monday men's championship game. The tournament is often overshadowed by the more prominent men's tournament; after a gender equality review following the 2021 tournament, the NCAA expanded it to the then-current 68-team format of the men's tournament and extended the "March Madness" branding to the tournament as well. Both tournaments were expanded to 76 teams starting with the 2027 editions. The 2024 women's championship was the first to receive higher viewership than the men's championship the same year. Still, the tournament receives a smaller amount of funding from broadcast rights (which are held by ESPN, and are pooled with those of other NCAA Division I championships besides golf and men's basketball) and sponsorship (which are sold by CBS and Turner Sports) than the men's tournament.
With 12 national titles, the UConn Huskies hold the record for the most NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championships, which includes a record four consecutive championships from 2013 through 2016. The team had also made the semi-finals for a record 14 consecutive tournaments. The Tennessee Lady Volunteers are the only team to make an appearance in every tournament since its founding in 1982.
Tournament format From 1982 to 1990, 1996 to 2002, 2017 to 2019, and since 2021, the Women's Final Four is usually played on the Friday before the Men's Final Four or the hours before the men played on the final Saturday of the tournament. The final, since 2023, is played the Sunday afternoon following the Men's Final Four; from 2017 to 2019, 2021 and 2022, it was Sunday evening.
The tournament bracket is made up of champions from each Division I conference, which are automatic bids. The remaining slots are at-large bids, with teams chosen by an NCAA selection committee. The selection process and tournament seedings are based on several factors, including team rankings, win–loss records, and NET data. Since 2026, 76 teams qualify for the tournament played in March and April. Of these teams, 32 earn automatic bids by winning their respective conference tournaments. Since 2017, the Ivy League conducts its own post-season tournament. The remaining teams are granted "at-large" bids, which are extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. Dr. Marilyn McNeil, vice president/director of athletics at Monmouth University is the current chairwoman. On March 1, 2011, Bowling Green State University's director of intercollegiate athletics, Greg Christopher, was appointed chair of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee during the 2011–12 academic year.
The tournament begins with 12 games known as the Opening Round. From 2022–2026, the women's tournament had four opening round games branded as the First Four. Under both the 68- and 76-team formats, the men's and women's First Four/Opening Round have used essentially identical formats. In the First Four era, the four lowest-ranked conference champions played for 16 seeds in the round of 64, and the four lowest-ranked at-large teams played for their own spots in the round of 64. Starting in 2027, the 12 lowest-ranked conference champions play for seeds 14 through 16, and the 12 lowest-ranked at-large teams will play for their own spots in the round of 64.
The tournament is split into four regional tournaments, and each regional has teams seeded from 1 to 16, with the committee ostensibly making every region as comparable to the others as possible. The top-seeded team in each region plays the #16 team, the #2 team plays the #15, etc. (meaning that all first-round games involve teams whose seeds add up to 17).
Number of teams, and seeding The first NCAA women's basketball tournament was held in 1982. The AIAW also held a basketball tournament in 1982, but most of the top teams, including defending AIAW champion Louisiana Tech, decided to participate in the NCAA tournament.
The championship consisted of 32 teams from 1982 to 1985 (in 1983, 36), 40 teams from 1986 to 1988, and 48 teams from 1989 to 1993. From 1994 to 2021, 64 teams competed in each tournament. From 2022 to 2026, the tournament featured 68 teams, matching the size of the D-I men's tournament. From 2027, both the men's and women's tournaments involve 76 teams.
Prior to 1996, seeding was conducted on a regional basis. The top teams (eight in the 32-, 40-, and 48-team formats, and 16 in the 64-team format) were ranked and seeded on a national basis. The remaining teams were then seeded based on their geographic region. Teams were moved outside of its geographic region only if it was necessary to balance the bracket, or if the proximity of an opponent outside of its region would be comparable and a more competitive game would result. In 1993, all teams except for the top four were explicitly unseeded. The regional seeding resumed in 1994. In 1996, seeds were assigned on a national basis using an "S-Curve" format similar to the process used in selecting the field for the men's tournament.
The most significant difference between bracketing for the men's and women's tournaments was introduced to the women's tournament for 2027 and beyond. The top 16 teams in the selection committee's ranking will be placed in regionals based solely on their actual seeding, with no regard for conference affiliation.
The following table summarizes some of the key attributes of the seeding process: Number of teams selected Year Automatic At-large Total Location of first round(s) Seeding Basis 1982 12 20 32 Higher seed Regional 1983 14 22 36 Higher seed 1984 17 15 32 1985 18 14 Higher seed 1986 17 23 40 Higher seed 1987 18 22 1988 1989 19 29 48 1990 21 27 1991 1992 22 26 1993 23 25 1994 32 32 64 1995 1996 31 33 Higher seed National 1997 30 34 Higher seed 1998 Higher seed 1999 2000 Higher seed 2001 31 33 2002 Higher seed 2003 16 Sites 2004 2005 8 Sites 2006 2007 2008 200916 Sites 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 3232 2015 Higher seed 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 20213133645 Sites National 2022323668 Higher seed 2023 2024 2025313720262027324476
Selection process
A special selection committee appointed by the NCAA determines which 76 teams will enter the tournament, and where they will be seeded and placed in the bracket. Because of the automatic bids, only 44 teams (the at-large bids) rely on the selection committee to secure them a spot in the tournament.
Women's NCAA Division I basketball champions +Legend for "Championship games" table belowIndicatorMeaningOTGame was decided in an overtime periodScoreEach score is linked to an article about that particular championship game, when availableYearEach year is linked to an article about that particular NCAA Tournament