NBA Star’s NCAA Championship Proposal Exposes $47 Million Inequality Between Men’s and Women’s Finals

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. The Alamodome rang in at $186 million; Amalie, just $139 million. A detail buried on Wikipedia, but loaded with meaning. Because this isn’t just about buildings—it’s about basketball’s balance of power.

Meanwhile, back on the court, 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.

Then 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!”

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!

— Jamal shead (@Thejshead) April 7, 2025

On the surface, a fan-forward pitch. Beneath it, a seismic question: why not the same arena, the same spotlight, the same respect?

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.

And maybe that’s the real stat that matters.

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