2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 64 teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 39th edition of the tournament began on March 21, 2021, in sites around San Antonio, Texas, and concluded with the championship game on April 4 at the Alamodome, with the Stanford Cardinal defeating the Arizona Wildcats 54–53 to win their third NCAA title.

2021 NCAA Division I
women's basketball tournament
Season2020–21
Teams64
Finals siteAlamodome
San Antonio, Texas
ChampionsStanford Cardinal (3rd title, 5th title game,
14th Final Four)
Runner-upArizona Wildcats (1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachTara VanDerveer (3rd title)
MOPHaley Jones (Stanford)
NCAA Division I women's tournaments
«2020 2022»

Due to logistical considerations surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (which resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 tournament), and mirroring a similar decision by the men's tournament, the entire tournament was played in the San Antonio area rather than at sites across the country, with some first and second round games played in nearby San Marcos and Austin. The Alamodome hosted all games from the regional semifinals onward, including the originally-awarded Final Four and championship game.

Four schools, America East champion Stony Brook, Big South champion High Point, Missouri Valley champion Bradley and Utah Valley from the WAC (California Baptist won the WAC tournament, but was ineligible for the NCAA tournament because it is in the third year of a four-year transition from Division II), made their first appearance in the tournament.

Additionally, Tennessee continued its record streak of making every edition of the tournament. Arizona made its first-ever appearance in the Final Four. UConn extended its record streak of 13 consecutive Final Four appearances. Wake Forest and Washington State made their first appearances since 1988 and 1991, respectively.

Tournament procedure

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The tournament's 64 teams consisted of the 31 conference champions (down from 32, due to the Ivy League having cancelled all winter athletics due to COVID-19),[1] and 33 "at-large" bids extended by the Selection Committee.

This tournament was the first since 1983 in which the RPI was not used in the selection process. On May 4, 2020, the NCAA announced that it would replace the RPI with the NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool), a metric that has been used in the selection process for the men's tournament since 2019. The women's version of the NET uses input data specific to the women's game but is otherwise functionally identical to the men's version.[2]

Schedule and venues

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On February 5, 2021, the NCAA announced that due to logistical considerations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic (which prompted the cancellation of the 2020 tournament), the entirety of the tournament would be conducted at sites in and around San Antonio and Austin (mirroring a similar decision for the men's tournament, which would similarly use venues in and around its Final Four host city of Indianapolis), rather than across the country;[3]

 
San Antonio
Austin
San Marcos
2021 NCAA tournament venues

First and second round (March 21–22, 23–24)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) (March 27–30)

  • Alamodome, San Antonio (Hosts: the University of the Incarnate Word and the University of Texas at San Antonio)

National semifinals and championship (final Four and championship) (April 2 and 4)

  • Alamodome, San Antonio (Hosts: the University of the Incarnate Word, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and San Antonio Sports)

The Alamodome had two courts for first- and second-round games, and was converted to a single court for later rounds. Practices were held at the Alamodome and the Henry B. González Convention Center.[4] The regions were named after famous sites in San Antonio: the Alamo, the HemisFair, the Mercado, and the River Walk.[5]

All games were played behind closed doors (with only friends and family present) until the Sweet Sixteen at the Alamodome, which operated at 17% capacity (10,880) for the remainder of the tournament.[6]

Facilities inequality

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Concerns over gender inequality were raised prior to the tournament, citing differences in the quality of facilities and amenities between the women's and men's tournament; among other examples, Arizona coach Adia Barnes criticized the lack of weight training equipment in the workout room (consisting of only a single tower of weights, in comparison to the larger weight room of the men's tournament). A video by Oregon forward Sedona Prince showing the aforementioned weight room drew wider attention to the disparity on social media.[7] Other forms of disparities were noted, including differing COVID-19 testing protocols, smaller "swag bags", and different food options.[8][7]

The NCAA had originally planned for the full weight room to only become available for the Sweet Sixteen round.[7] Vice President of Women's Basketball Lynn Holzman stated that the NCAA had planned to expand the facilities in the workout room over the course of the tournament due to space constraints, but were "actively working to enhance existing resources at practice courts, including additional weight training equipment." Barnes stated that the Henry B. González Convention Center had "plenty of open areas" that could have been used, and that "it takes people like me that were pro players being a voice for things to change. There's a lot of voices out there. People care now. The fact that the NCAA responded so fast, I think that's good. That's meaningful."[9][10][7]

In a letter obtained by tournament broadcaster ESPN on March 22, NCAA president Mark Emmert stated that "much has been resolved", but that he would investigate "exactly how we found ourselves in this situation", and "directed our leadership team and appropriate staff to assess all the services, resources, and facilities provided to both the men's and women's teams so that we have a completely clear comparison".[11] The America East Conference and Ivy League sent a letter to Emmert, arguing that the incident "warrants a comprehensive discussion once the tournaments conclude about how we—national office staff and membership—can protect and ensure equity across all championships in the future, but especially in the sport of basketball."[7]

The incident led to discussions surrounding other forms of inequalities between the men's and women's tournaments, including their difference in budget, no revenue bonuses awarded to schools for winning the tournament, NCAA marketing of "March Madness" having focused almost exclusively on the men's tournament (with the women's tournament having never officially used the name; and tournament branding often used generic "NCAA Women's Basketball" logos instead),[12] and the men's tournament often being referred to as "the NCAA tournament" by media and the general public with no disambiguation.[7] In a Sportico op-ed, America East commissioner Amy Huchthausen accused the NCAA of "restricting women’s basketball from taking advantage of an emerging market", noting that the NCAA's official sponsorships are managed by the CBS Sports/Turner Sports consortium that broadcasts the men's tournament, and that the ESPN contract to televise the women's tournament (which is bundled with those of other NCAA championships) "provides a measure of financial certainty, but it does not provide women's basketball (or any of the other sports, for that matter) an incentive to grow".[13][14]

The NCAA commissioned an independent review of gender equality among all of its championships[8] by the law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP; the first phase, focusing specifically on NCAA basketball championships, was published on August 3, 2021. The review concluded that the structure of the NCAA's operations were designed to "maximize the value of and support to the Division I Men's Basketball Championship as the primary source of funding for the NCAA and its membership"; it found that the CBS/Turner sponsorship contracts require advertisers to pay for marketing rights across all of the NCAA's championships (including the men's tournament, which can be costly), and that advertisers also had to separately pay ESPN for airtime during the women's tournament's telecasts. The review included several recommendations, including that:[15][16][7]

  • The media rights for the women's Division I basketball tournament be sold separately from other NCAA championships. It was estimated that media rights to the women's tournament could be worth at least $81 million per-season (in comparison to the $34 million total of the current ESPN contract).
  • The women's tournament be expanded to 68 teams, as with the men's tournament.
  • The women's tournament adopt the same revenue distribution framework as the men's tournament.
  • The NCAA's contracts be renegotiated to provide more opportunities for entities who wish to sponsor specific NCAA championships other than the men's basketball tournament.
  • The "March Madness" branding be extended to the women's tournament.
  • The men's and women's Final Four be hosted together in the same venue.

The NCAA implemented two of these recommendations—the expansion to a 68-team format, and use of the "March Madness" branding—for the 2022 tournament.[17][12] The NCAA renewed its contract with ESPN in January 2024 under an eight-year contract, now valued at an average of $115 million per-season, and granting ESPN additional rights to sell sponsorships for its tournament broadcasts.[18]

Original 2021 NCAA tournament schedule and venues

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Albany
Cedar Park
Cincinnati
Spokane
San Antonio
2021 NCAA regional (blue) and Final Four (red) locations as originally selected

The tournament's first two rounds were originally scheduled to be hosted by the top sixteen seeds. The following were the sites initially selected to host the later rounds of the 2021 tournament:[19][20][21]

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) (March 26–29)

National semifinals and championship (final Four and championship) (April 2 and 4)

  • Alamodome, San Antonio (Hosts: the University of the Incarnate Word, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and San Antonio Sports)

This is the third time that the women's Final Four was played in San Antonio, having previously been played in the city in 2002 and 2010.

Qualification and selection

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Automatic qualifiers

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The following teams automatically qualified for the 2021 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.[a]

Conference Team Record Appearance Last bid
ACC NC State 20–2 26th 2019
America East Stony Brook 15–5 1st Never
American South Florida 18–3 7th 2018
ASUN Florida Gulf Coast 26–2 7th 2019
Atlantic 10 VCU 16–10 2nd 2009
Big 12 Baylor 25–2 19th 2019
Big East UConn 24–1 32nd 2019
Big Sky Idaho State 22–3 4th 2012
Big South High Point 22–6 1st Never
Big Ten Maryland 24–2 28th 2019
Big West UC Davis 13–2 3rd 2019
Colonial Drexel 14–8 2nd 2009
C-USA Middle Tennessee 17–7 19th 2016
Horizon Wright State 18–7 3rd 2019
Ivy League Ivy League season canceled
MAAC Marist 18–3 11th 2014
MAC Central Michigan 18–8 6th 2019
MEAC North Carolina A&T 14–2 5th 2018
Missouri Valley Bradley 17–11 1st Never
Mountain West Wyoming 14–9 2nd 2008
Northeast Mount St. Mary's 17–6 3rd 1995
Ohio Valley Belmont 20–5 6th 2019
Pac-12 Stanford 25–2 34th 2019
Patriot Lehigh 10–5 4th 2010
SEC South Carolina 22–4 17th 2019
Southern Mercer 19–6 3rd 2019
Southland Stephen F. Austin 24–2 17th 2006
SWAC Jackson State 18–5 5th 2008
Summit League South Dakota 19–5 3rd 2019
Sun Belt Troy 22–5 4th 2017
West Coast Gonzaga 23–3 12th 2019
WAC Utah Valley[a] 13–6 1st Never
  1. ^ a b California Baptist won the WAC tournament, but was ineligible for the NCAA Tournament due to its transition from Division II and instead played in the WNIT. Utah Valley received the WAC's bid by finishing in second place behind California Baptist in the regular season.

Tournament seeds

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Alamo regional – Alamodome,
San Antonio, Texas
Seed School Conference Record NET Berth type
1 Stanford Pac-12 25–2 1 Automatic
2 Louisville ACC 23–3 6 At-Large
3 Georgia SEC 20–6 13 At-Large
4 Arkansas SEC 19–8 17 At-Large
5 Missouri State Missouri Valley 21–2 20 At-Large
6 Oregon Pac-12 13–8 10 At-Large
7 Northwestern Big Ten 15–8 31 At-Large
8 Oklahoma State Big 12 18–8 27 At-Large
9 Wake Forest ACC 12–12 47 At-Large
10 UCF American 16–4 38 At-Large
11 South Dakota Summit 19–5 32 Automatic
12 UC Davis Big West 13–2 71 Automatic
13 Wright State Horizon 18–7 80 Automatic
14 Drexel Colonial 14–8 106 Automatic
15 Marist MAAC 18–3 103 Automatic
16 Utah Valley WAC 13–6 216 Automatic
HemisFair regional – Alamodome,
San Antonio, Texas
Seed School Conference Record NET Berth type
1 South Carolina SEC 22–4 4 Automatic
2 Maryland Big Ten 24–2 5 Automatic
3 UCLA Pac-12 16–5 8 At-Large
4 West Virginia Big 12 21–6 24 At-Large
5 Georgia Tech ACC 15–8 30 At-Large
6 Texas Big 12 18–9 29 At-Large
7 Alabama SEC 16–9 33 At-Large
8 Oregon State Pac-12 11–7 36 At-Large
9 Florida State ACC 10–8 48 At-Large
10 North Carolina ACC 13–10 35 At-Large
11 Bradley Missouri Valley 17–11 79 Automatic
12 Stephen F. Austin Southland 24–2 19 Automatic
13 Lehigh Patriot 10–5 75 Automatic
14 Wyoming Mountain West 14–9 99 Automatic
15 Mount St. Mary's Northeast 17–6 114 Automatic
16 Mercer Southern 19–6 146 Automatic
Mercado regional – Alamodome,
San Antonio, Texas
Seed School Conference Record NET Berth type
1 NC State ACC 20–2 7 Automatic
2 Texas A&M SEC 23–2 11 At-Large
3 Arizona Pac-12 16–5 15 At-Large
4 Indiana Big Ten 18–5 9 At-Large
5 Gonzaga WCC 23–3 16 Automatic
6 Rutgers Big Ten 14–4 12 At-Large
7 Iowa State Big 12 16–10 26 At-Large
8 South Florida American 18–3 25 Automatic
9 Washington State Pac-12 12–11 45 At-Large
10 Michigan State Big Ten 15–8 40 At-Large
11 BYU WCC 18–5 50 At-Large
12 Belmont Ohio Valley 20–5 63 Automatic
13 VCU Atlantic 10 16–10 105 Automatic
14 Stony Brook America East 15–5 100 Automatic
15 Troy Sun Belt 22–5 115 Automatic
16 North Carolina A&T MEAC 14–2 123 Automatic
River Walk regional – Alamodome,
San Antonio, Texas
Seed School Conference Record NET Berth type
1 UConn Big East 24–1 2 Automatic
2 Baylor Big 12 25–2 3 Automatic
3 Tennessee SEC 16–7 14 At-Large
4 Kentucky SEC 17–8 18 At-Large
5 Iowa Big Ten 18–9 23 At-Large
6 Michigan Big Ten 14–5 22 At-Large
7 Virginia Tech ACC 14–9 28 At-Large
8 Syracuse ACC 14–8 43 At-Large
9 South Dakota State Summit 21–3 46 At-Large
10 Marquette Big East 19–6 34 At-Large
11 Florida Gulf Coast ASUN 26–2 41 Automatic
12 Central Michigan MAC 18–8 90 Automatic
13 Idaho State Big Sky 22–3 84 Automatic
14 Middle Tennessee C-USA 17–7 107 Automatic
15 Jackson State SWAC 18–5 111 Automatic
16 High Point Big South 22–6 180 Automatic

Tournament records

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  • Arizona's Aari McDonald made 22 three-pointers in the tournament, tying the record for the most ever made in an NCAA tournament, set by Kia Nurse in 2017.[22]
  • NC State's Kai Crutchfield hit 10 of 11 three point field-goal attempts, getting 90.9% of her attempts, setting the record for best three point field-goal percentage in a tournament.[23]

Bracket

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All times are listed as Central Daylight Time (UTC−5)
* – Denotes overtime period

Alamo regional – San Antonio, Texas

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First round
Round of 64
March 21–22
Second round
Round of 32
March 23–24
Regional semifinals
Sweet Sixteen
March 28
Regional final
Elite Eight
March 30
            
1 Stanford 87
16 Utah Valley 44
1 Stanford 73
Alamodome (March 21)
Bill Greehey Arena (March 21)
8 Oklahoma State 62
8 Oklahoma State 84
9 Wake Forest 61
1 Stanford 89
Convocation Center (March 23)
Convocation Center (March 24)
5 Missouri State 62
5 Missouri State 70
12 UC Davis 51
5 Missouri State 64
Bill Greehey Arena (March 22)
Frank Erwin Center (March 22)
13 Wright State 39
4 Arkansas 62
13 Wright State 66
1 Stanford 78
2 Louisville 63
6 Oregon 67
11 South Dakota 47
6 Oregon 57
Alamodome (March 22)
Bill Greehey Arena (March 22)
3 Georgia 50
3 Georgia 67
14 Drexel 53
6 Oregon 42
Alamodome (March 24)
Alamodome (March 24)
2 Louisville 60
7 Northwestern 62
10 UCF 51
7 Northwestern 53
Bill Greehey Arena (March 22)
Alamodome (March 22)
2 Louisville 62
2 Louisville 74
15 Marist 43

* – Denotes overtime period

Alamo regional final

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ESPN
March 30
8:00pm
#2 Louisville Cardinals 63, #1 Stanford Cardinal 78
Scoring by quarter: 21–13, 17–13, 12–22, 13–30
Pts: D. Evans, 24
Rebs: M. Robinson, 8
Asts: D. Evans, K. Smith, M. Robinson, 3
Pts: Le. Hull, 21
Rebs: H. Jones, 10
Asts: K. Williams, 5
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 1,463
Referees: Katie Lukanich, Michael Price, Cheryl Flores

HemisFair regional – San Antonio, Texas

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First round
Round of 64
March 21–22
Second round
Round of 32
March 23–24
Regional semifinals
Sweet Sixteen
March 28
Regional final
Elite Eight
March 30
            
1 South Carolina 79
16 Mercer 53
1 South Carolina 59
Alamodome (March 21)
Strahan Arena (March 21)
8 Oregon State 42
8 Oregon State 83
9 Florida State 59
1 South Carolina 76
Alamodome (March 23)
Convocation Center (March 23)
5 Georgia Tech 65
5 Georgia Tech 54*
12 Stephen F. Austin 52
5 Georgia Tech 73
Bill Greehey Arena (March 21)
Bill Greehey Arena (March 21)
4 West Virginia 56
4 West Virginia 77
13 Lehigh 53
1 South Carolina 62
6 Texas 34
6 Texas 81
11 Bradley 62
6 Texas 71
Strahan Arena (March 22)
Frank Erwin Center (March 22)
3 UCLA 62
3 UCLA 69
14 Wyoming 48
6 Texas 64
Alamodome (March 24)
Bill Greehey Arena (March 24)
2 Maryland 61
7 Alabama 80
10 North Carolina 71
7 Alabama 64
Alamodome (March 22)
Alamodome (March 22)
2 Maryland 100
2 Maryland 98
15 Mount St. Mary's 45

* – Denotes overtime period

HemisFair regional final

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ESPN
March 30
6:00pm
#6 Texas Longhorns 34, #1 South Carolina Gamecocks 62
Scoring by quarter: 7–18, 15–19, 12–15, 0–10
Pts: A. Warren, 13
Rebs: C. Taylor, L. Ebo, 7
Asts: J. Allen-Taylor, 3
Pts: Z. Cooke, 16
Rebs: A. Boston, B. Beal, L. Amihere, V. Saxton, 8
Asts: D. Henderson, 7
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 0
Referees: Joseph Vaszily, Infini Robinson, Pualani Spurlock

Mercado regional – San Antonio, Texas

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First round
Round of 64
March 21–22
Second round
Round of 32
March 23–24
Regional semifinals
Sweet Sixteen
March 27
Regional final
Elite Eight
March 29
            
1 NC State 79
16 North Carolina A&T 58
1 NC State 79
Strahan Arena (March 21)
Frank Erwin Center (March 21)
8 South Florida 67
8 South Florida 57
9 Washington State 53
1 NC State 70
Alamodome (March 23)
Bill Greehey Arena (March 24)
4 Indiana 73
5 Gonzaga 59
12 Belmont 64
12 Belmont 48
Strahan Arena (March 22)
Convocation Center (March 22)
4 Indiana 70
4 Indiana 63
13 VCU 32
4 Indiana 53
3 Arizona 66
6 Rutgers 66
11 BYU 69
11 BYU 46
Strahan Arena (March 22)
Alamodome (March 22)
3 Arizona 52
3 Arizona 79
14 Stony Brook 44
3 Arizona 74
Convocation Center (March 24)
Alamodome (March 24)
2 Texas A&M 59
7 Iowa State 79
10 Michigan State 75
7 Iowa State 82
Alamodome (March 22)
Frank Erwin Center (March 22)
2 Texas A&M 84*
2 Texas A&M 84
15 Troy 80

* – Denotes overtime period

Mercado regional final

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ESPN
March 29
8:00pm
#4 Indiana Hoosiers 53, #3 Arizona Wildcats 66
Scoring by quarter: 11–14, 12–13, 21–19, 9–20
Pts: M. Holmes, 20
Rebs: A. Gulbe, 9
Asts: G. Berger, 4
Pts: A. McDonald, 33
Rebs: A. McDonald, 11
Asts: A. McDonald, 4
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 0
Referees: Felicia Grinter, Tiara Cruse, Tiffany Bird

River Walk regional – San Antonio, Texas

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First round
Round of 64
March 21
Second round
Round of 32
March 23
Regional semifinals
Sweet Sixteen
March 27
Regional final
Elite Eight
March 29
            
1 UConn 102
16 High Point 59
1 UConn 83
Alamodome (March 21)
Frank Erwin Center (March 21)
8 Syracuse 47
8 Syracuse 72
9 South Dakota State 55
1 UConn 92
Alamodome (March 23)
Bill Greehey Arena (March 23)
5 Iowa 72
5 Iowa 87
12 Central Michigan 72
5 Iowa 86
Alamodome (March 21)
Alamodome (March 21)
4 Kentucky 72
4 Kentucky 71
13 Idaho State 63
1 UConn 69
2 Baylor 67
6 Michigan 87
11 Florida Gulf Coast 66
6 Michigan 70
Convocation Center (March 21)
Frank Erwin Center (March 21)
3 Tennessee 55
3 Tennessee 87
14 Middle Tennessee 62
6 Michigan 75
Alamodome (March 23)
Bill Greehey Arena (March 23)
2 Baylor 78*
7 Virginia Tech 70
10 Marquette 63
7 Virginia Tech 48
Strahan Arena (March 21)
Alamodome (March 21)
2 Baylor 90
2 Baylor 101
15 Jackson State 52

* – Denotes overtime period

River Walk regional final

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ESPN
March 29
6:00pm
#2 Baylor Lady Bears 67, #1 UConn Huskies 69
Scoring by quarter: 24–26, 15–11, 16–16, 12–16
Pts: D. Carrington, 22
Rebs: N. Smith, 13
Asts: N. Smith, M. Ursin, D. Carrington, 3
Pts: P. Bueckers, 28
Rebs: O. Nelson-Ododa, 8
Asts: O. Nelson-Ododa, 4
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 3,377
Referees: Lisa Jones, Brian Hall, Karen Preato

Final Four

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During the Final Four round, Stanford, the winner of the Alamo Regional defeated South Carolina, the winner of the HemisFair Regional. Arizona, the winner of the Mercado Regional defeated UConn, the winner of the River Walk Regional. In the championship game, Stanford defeated Arizona by a score of 54–53 to take the 2021 title.

Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas

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National semifinals
Final Four
April 2
National championship game
April 4
      
A1 Stanford 66
H1 South Carolina 65
A1 Stanford 54
M3 Arizona 53
M3 Arizona 69
RW1 UConn 59

National semifinals

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ESPN
April 2
5:00 pm
A1 Stanford Cardinal 66, H1 South Carolina Gamecocks 65
Scoring by quarter: 15–15, 16–10, 21–24, 14–16
Pts: H. Jones, 24
Rebs: Le. Hull, 13
Asts: Le. Hull, 4
Pts: Z. Cooke, 25
Rebs: A. Boston, 16
Asts: D. Henderson, 3
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 0
Referees: Eric Brewton, Brenda Pantoja, Gina Cross
ESPN
April 2
8:30 pm
M3 Arizona Wildcats 69, RW1 UConn Huskies 59
Scoring by quarter: 16–10, 16–12, 16–17, 21–20
Pts: A. McDonald, 26
Rebs: H. Pueyo, 8
Asts: B. Yeaney, 4
Pts: C. Williams, 20
Rebs: A. Edwards, 7
Asts: P. Bueckers, 4
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 4,793
Referees: Chuck Gonzalez, Dee Kantner, Pualani Spurlock-Welsh

National championship

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ESPN
April 4
5:00 pm
A1 Stanford Cardinal 54, M3 Arizona Wildcats 53
Scoring by quarter: 16–8, 15–16, 12–16, 11–13
Pts: H. Jones, 17
Rebs: Le. Hull, 10
Asts: A. Prechtel, A. Wilson, K. Williams, 3
Pts: A. McDonald, 22
Rebs: S. Thomas, S. Pellington, 7
Asts: A. McDonald, T. Baptiste, 2
Alamodome – San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 4,604
Referees: Cheryl Flores, Maj Forsberg, Felicia Grinter

Final Four all-tournament team

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Record by conference

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Conference Bids Record Win % R64 R32 S16 E8 F4 CG NC
Pac-12 6 15–5 .750 6 5 3 2 2 2 1
Big East 2 4–2 .667 2 1 1 1 1
SEC 7 10–7 .588 7 6 2 1 1
ACC 8 9–8 .529 8 5 3 1
Big 12 5 9–5 .643 5 5 2 2
Big Ten 7 10–7 .588 7 5 4 1
Missouri Valley 2 2–2 .500 2 1 1
WCC 2 1–2 .333 2 1
American 2 1–2 .333 2 1
Horizon 1 1–1 .500 1 1
Ohio Valley 1 1–1 .500 1 1
Summit 2 0–2 .000 2
MAC 1 0–1 .000 1
Southland 1 0–1 .000 1
C-USA 1 0–1 .000 1
SWAC 1 0–1 .000 1
MEAC 1 0–1 .000 1
Atlantic 10 1 0–1 .000 1
Mountain West 1 0–1 .000 1
America East 1 0–1 .000 1
Atlantic Sun 1 0–1 .000 1
Big Sky 1 0–1 .000 1
Big South 1 0–1 .000 1
Big West 1 0–1 .000 1
Colonial 1 0–1 .000 1
MAAC 1 0–1 .000 1
Patriot 1 0–1 .000 1
Southern 1 0–1 .000 1
WAC 1 0–1 .000 1
Sun Belt 1 0–1 .000 1
Northeast 1 0–1 .000 1
  • The R64, R32, S16, E8, F4, CG, and NC columns indicate how many teams from each conference were in the round of 64 (first round), round of 32 (second round), Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, championship game, and national champion, respectively.
  • The American, America East, Atlantic 10, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Conference USA, Colonial, Horizon, MAAC, MEAC, Mountain West, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Sun Belt, SWAC, and WAC conferences each had one representative that was eliminated in the first round.

Media coverage

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Television

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ESPN served as broadcaster of the tournament, as part of its multi-year deal to broadcast NCAA national championships. Following a similar broadcast arrangement to the men's tournament under the CBS/Turner consortium, ESPN announced that all games in the tournament would be televised nationally in their entirety by either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, or, for the first time, ABC (marking the first women's tournament to include coverage on broadcast television since 1995), rather than use a mix of regional broadcasts, streaming, and "whiparound" feeds.[25]

Kerry Callahan became the first woman to serve as producer for ESPN's coverage of the Women's Final Four.[26]

Studio host and analysts

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  • Maria Taylor (Host) (First, Second rounds, Regionals, Final Four, and National championship game)
  • Kelsey Riggs (Host) (first round)
  • Andy Landers (Analyst) (First, Second rounds, Regionals, Final Four, and National championship game)
  • Rebecca Lobo (Analyst) (first and second rounds)
  • Carolyn Peck (Analyst) (Regionals, Final Four, and National championship game)
  • Andraya Carter (Analyst) (first round)
  • Monica McNutt (Analyst) (first round)

Broadcast assignments

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Radio

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Westwood One has exclusive radio rights to the entire tournament.[27][28] Teams participating in the Elite Eight, Final Four, and Championship were allowed to have their own local broadcasts, but they were not allowed to stream those broadcasts online.

Regional finals

Final Four and Championship

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "What the Ivy League's canceling its seasons means for college basketball, other sports". ESPN.com. November 13, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  2. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (May 4, 2020). "Women's Div. I hoop switching from RPI to NET to assess teams". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  3. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (February 5, 2021). "Entire NCAA women's basketball tournament to be held in San Antonio area". ESPN. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  4. ^ "San Antonio region to host 2021 Division I Women's Basketball Championship | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  5. ^ Voepel, Mechelle (February 28, 2021). "UConn, Stanford, Texas A&M, South Carolina top four in early peek at NCAA women's basketball tournament seeding". ESPN. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Nixon, Rick (February 19, 2021). "NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship to allow limited fan attendance". NCAA.org. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "'Is that the best we can do?' Inside an overdue reckoning in NCAA basketball". ESPN.com. April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "NCAA hires firm for review after tourney issues". ESPN.com. March 25, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  9. ^ "NCAA admits women's tourney facilities lacking". ESPN.com. March 18, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  10. ^ Brown, PJ (March 19, 2021). "NCAA Tournament notebook: Adia Barnes 'embarrassed' by weight-room inequalities between men, women". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  11. ^ "Emmert vows review of NCAA facility 'blunders'". ESPN.com. March 22, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
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