In 2025, the men’s and women’s national championships were played miles apart—Houston Vs Florida at the Alamodome in San Antonio, and South Carolina vs. UConn at Amalie Arena in Tampa. But the real distance? $47 million. That’s the construction cost gap between the venues. Alamodome opened in 1993 with a construction cost of $186 million, while the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, is a facility built in 1996 for $139 million. Now, many might consider these to be details buried on Wikipedia, but they are loaded with meaning. Because this isn’t just about buildings—it’s about basketball’s balance of power.

Before we get into it, let us remember that the women’s game was everywhere. The title showdown between the Huskies and Gamecocks drew 8.5 million on ESPN platforms, making it the third-most-watched women’s national title game ever. And that doesn’t even count the 703,000 viewers tuning into ESPN’s alternate broadcast with Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. So, why must they be reduced to a historical gap in infrastructure that now highlights the glaring disparity?

The Alamodome, with its 64,000-seat capacity for basketball events, is a behemoth of a venue, designed to host massive crowds and high-profile events. Its scale is a proof of the NCAA’s long-standing focus on men’s basketball as a revenue generation machine. Which, to be honest, is fine. As long as it doesn’t end up undermining something just as crucial. Because, in contrast, Amalie Arena, while still impressive with a capacity of 20,500, was originally built as a hockey arena for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Hence, it is understandable why it doesn’t look like it’s tailored for basketball’s biggest stage. When there is a better option, why should the roars for women’s final four be limited to some twenty thousand roars?

Hence came Jamal Shead, guard for the Toronto Raptors, who summed up what many were already thinking: “Next year they need to put women’s and men’s Final Four same place! They already on opposite days… Big Final Four weekend would be lit!”

On the surface, a fan-forward pitch. Beneath it, a seismic question: why not the same arena, the same spotlight, the same respect? Shead’s idea to host both the men’s and women’s Final Four in the same city on the same weekend isn’t just about creating a “lit” atmosphere, as he put it—it’s a call for equity in exposure and fan engagement. Combining the events could also increase the visibility of the women’s tournament, which has historically lagged behind the men’s in terms of sponsorship dollars. And it is the need of the hour.

Especially when the women’s game is no longer catching up—it’s setting the pace. 18.87 million watched the South Carolina–Iowa final in 2024, the most-watched basketball game—college or pro—since 2019. The men’s final? 14.82 million. Add it all up, and 33.69 million tuned into March Madness 2024… but the women’s game stole the moment. Here, it is inevitable to talk about the marketing efforts too. The NCAA’s website for the 2025 men’s Final Four touted “FREE and low-cost Fan Events” in San Antonio, including the “Final Four Fan Fest presented by Capital One” and the “March Madness Music Festival”. Similar events in Tampa for the women’s Final Four? Less publicized. So, it is basically a cycle where one thing leads to the other, and in the end, we find ourselves giving reasons that we were supposed to uproot in the first place.

So, maybe, just maybe, hosting the events at the same venue will bring the women’s game into the conversation, as vehemently as it should be included. However, as nice as the idea sounds, it does not seem likely to happen anytime soon. These games are scheduled years in advance, as many commenters argued. There are, as they say, logistical challenges at play too. As one user clarified, “Broadcasting rights are different. Might affect practices too“. Add in the ever-growing problem of hotel rooms and the chances dim even further. “It’s near impossible to get a hotel for the men’s already. Maybe put them in the same state or region but definitely not the same city,” pointed out another user.

Then again, change only comes when you actively try to work towards it. Till then, the real driver might just be your remote.

Split Screen: NCAA Men’s Final Four booms as Women’s ratings dip without Clark

It was a tale of two Final Fours this past weekend — one a ratings high-rise, the other a post-Clark cool-down. The 2025 women’s Final Four averaged 3.9 million viewers across its two Friday night games on ESPN, making it the third-most-watched in history. But the celebration stops there.

That number is down a staggering 64% (according to Front Office Sports) from last year’s record-breaking 10.8 million, a drop widely attributed to the absence of the Caitlin Clark Effect. Her electric presence in 2024 brought in an unprecedented audience, and in her absence, the void could be starkly felt.

Both matchups underwhelmed from a drama standpoint. UConn blew out UCLA by 34, the largest margin in women’s Final Four history. Viewership for that game, despite its primetime 9 p.m. slot, peaked at 4.1 million. The earlier clash — South Carolina vs. Texas — stayed close until halftime, but a dominant third quarter from the Gamecocks led to a runaway 3.6 million average. The lopsided nature of both contests didn’t do the ratings any favors.

Meanwhile, the men’s Final Four delivered on every front: two elite matchups, tight finishes, and a major ratings win. Houston’s nail-biter over Duke and Florida’s gritty win over Auburn combined for 15.3 million viewers — a 19% jump from 2024 and the best men’s Final Four numbers since 2017, according to the Hollywood Reporter. CBS’ coverage peaked at 20.4 million viewers, with Houston-Duke becoming the most-watched game of the 2025 men’s tournament.

In short, where the women’s Final Four lost steam, the men’s picked up speed. It’s a mixed bag for women’s hoops — signs of growth across earlier rounds, but a clear reminder: the fight for parity is far from over.