Is Parity Still an Issue for Women’s NCAA Basketball?

For many, there is only one basketball tournament happening right now believed to be worth watching. The women’s NCAA basketball tournament, happening concurrently with the much more popular men’s tourney, is an afterthought for these viewers, a primary complaint being that there is a lack of parity and competition between qualifying teams.

However, with two number-one seeds losing this past week, as well as another two upsets of higher-seeded teams, some might argue this narrative is changing and the conception that women’s college basketball is becoming less top-heavy.

Unfortunately, those seeking proof of a more balanced women’s college basketball field might be left wanting still. While this current women’s tournament is an outlier in terms of average Elite Eight seed (3.5, the lowest average seed in the past decade), looking at the past ten tournaments, there is not the trend one would expect of lower seeds advancing more often that would suggest greater parity. In fact, the average women’s Elite Eight seed for 2007-2011 was 2.5, while 2012-2016’s average was 2.4. Perhaps the women’s game is not, in fact, trending as strongly towards greater parity as hoped.

Year	Average Elite Eight Seed, Women’s	Average Elite Eight Seed, Men’s
2016	3.5	3
2015	2.125	2.625
2014	2.5	4.5
2013	2.375	3.5
2012	1.5	2.625
2011	2.625	4.5
2010	2.625	3.125
2009	3	1.875
2008	1.5	2.75
2007	2.75	1.625
10 Year Average	2.45	3.01

If parity is not shown by low seeds having improved performance at the tournament, then perhaps parity has been achieved by different teams being atop women’s basketball. Unfortunately that is also not the case. The UConn women’s basketball team has been the most dominant force in college athletics for over a decade, making the Elite Eight or better a staggering twenty of twenty-two years. The Huskies have won ten championships in that twenty-two year span.

Even putting the Huskies’ historical run aside, the case for proving parity through team variety seems dubious. Since 2007, only 14 teams have appeared in the women’s Final Four, with three schools having made the trip five or more times in nine years.

School	Women’s Final Four Appearances since 2007
UConn	8
Stanford	6
Notre Dame	5
Baylor	2
Louisville	2
Maryland	2
Tennessee	2
LSU	2
Oklahoma	2
Rutgers	1
UNC	1
California	1
Texas A&M	1
South Carolina	1

Tournament upsets and the appearance of parity is of utmost importance for increasing the popularity of women’s NCAA basketball. This past week saw a major step in the right direction, with four squads beating higher-seeded teams. However, to claim that women’s basketball has “arrived” in terms of parity would be premature, especially with the Huskies still an overwhelming favorite to win another championship and Final Four appearances still the provenance of a relatively small cadre of schools.