By ALANIS THAMES TAMPA, Fla. — Millions tuned in to watch women’s basketball powerhouses UConn and South Carolina dominate in the Final Four on April 4. Many more watched Houston and Florida stun their opponents in the men’s Final Four a day later. Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman sees a wor ld where both premier events happen in the same place. It’s not a new conversation, but Ackerman believes the exponential growth of women’s basketball in a landscape long dominated by the men makes now an ideal time for a joint Final Four. “You will get people to say that it shouldn’t happen,” said Ackerman, who has been commissioner of the Big East since 2013. “That the women’s tournament is doing just fine. And that’s not without merit. I’m saying if the NCAA is looking for growth — and it is — and is looking for revenue growth — and it is. I can’t think of many ways you could accomplish that in a significant way versus in an incremental way than combining the two Final Fours.” The men and women’s basketball tournaments would hold their semifinals and title games in the same city on the same weekend, with similar staggered scheduling as there currently is. Though a combined Final Four likely couldn’t take place until at least 2032, with sites on both sides locked in until 2031. NCAA President Charlie Baker isn’t opposed to the idea, which would have to be approved by a committee of NCAA, but he acknowledged there would be challenges. “It’s not something they don’t discuss,” Baker said. “They do. I think there are two big issues with it. The biggest one is just finding a place that would be able to make that whole thing work. Just logistically (it) would be challenging.” Combined Final Four could increase revenue opportunities Combining the tournaments was also recommended several years ago after an external review of gender disparities between the men’s and women’s tourneys. The scathing report was released in August 2021 by a law firm hired by the NCAA, sparked by social media and player complaints about glaring differences in amenities at the men’s and women’s sites. Ackerman said the idea she’s been pushing for over 10 years should at least be considered. She wrote a paper for the NCAA in 2013 proposing ideas for more equity in the championships, including combining both Final Fours. With different sites, many commissioners, athletic directors and school officials find themselves having to choose which tournament to attend, Ackerman said. And because more ancillary events and sponsorship activations happen at the men’s site, those officials often end up at that one instead of the women’s tournament. “There’s a symbolism there that shouldn’t be overlooked,” Ackerman said, “which is, we’re trying to build women’s basketball. We need everybody on board to do that. We need the athletic directors here (at the women’s tournament). … We’re losing that sort of spiritual support, if you will, for women’s basketball because it’s head to head with the men’s Final Four, which is a magnet for all the networking and business activity.” Ed Desser, the sports media executive who co-authored that 2021 gender equity analysis, said it makes financial sense to combine the tournaments, as it creates a central location for everyone, including NCAA staff, to operate from. “Secondly, you have the opportunity, which may have seemed like a bit of a fantasy a few years back, but nowadays, the notion of filling up a dome to see the women’s finals makes a lot of sense,” Desser said. “And that creates operating efficiencies and creates substantial additional revenue opportunities.” Las Vegas was one of the large metropolitan areas that Ackerman said could work for a combined tournament. The city, which has the WNBA’s Aces, the NFL’s Raiders and the NHL’s Golden Knights, has hosted the NBA Summer League — with 30 teams — since its inaugural season in 2004. There are also concerns that the women could be overshadowed by the men if the tournaments were held in the same place. John Kosner, a digital media consultant, who co-authored the gender equity report with Desser, said women’s basketball’s expanding reach should quell those apprehensions. Last year’s women’s NCAA championship game drew a bigger television audience than the men’s title game for the first time, with an average of 18.9 million viewers watching undefeated South Carolina beat Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark. This year’s tournament has seen a slight decrease in ratings so far, which shouldn’t come as a surprise with Clark now in the WNBA. Still, the early rounds were the second-most watched ever, as many tuned in to see big names like Paige Bueckers and UConn gear up for their national championship run. “The Women’s Final Four has been incredibly exciting,” said Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden. “I think it would be pretty neat to be able to bring the fan bases, both the men’s and women’s side, together and have an experience like that. There is never too much great basketball that you can have going on at the same place at the same time, especially in the collegiate ranks.” Not all women’s coaches want a combined format UConn coach Geno Auriemma and LSU’s Kim Mulkey weren’t happy with the current Super Regional format for the women’s tournament because of what they described as travel inconveniences and an inability for much of their fanbases to get to their games in Spokane, Washington. It’s the third season that the four women’s regionals have been consolidated into two sites. This year, the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight were played in Spokane and Birmingham, Alabama. The Huskies traveled cross-country from Connecticut to Washington, then flew nearly 3,000 miles back to Tampa for the semifinals the day after their Elite Eight game. Auriemma criticized the format again during the Final Four. “We don’t want to shortchange” the players, he said. “We don’t want to sell them short, you know? … You shouldn’t be trying to make more money by shortchanging their experience. I don’t think there’s anybody on the guys’ side and the committee is going, ‘I think we can save a couple dollars if we do this.’ I don’t think they worry about that.” Baker said the goal of the Super Regional was to increase attendance and improve the quality of the experience for the players, which seems to be in line Ackerman’s proposal. “It worked,” Baker said. “I mean, the attendance is up dramatically over the last three years in the regional rounds as a result of that.” Baker also estimated the NCAA spent at least $15 million on the women’s tournament over the past few years. “I’m sure when the tournament’s over, people will sit down,” he said, “the committee will take all the feedback they got from everybody they heard from and make decisions for the future.” AP Sports Writers Eddie Pells and Aaron Beard contributed from San Antonio, Texas. ...read more read less