Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Executive Director Danielle Donehew reacts to the release of the Kaplan Hecker and Fink LLC report from its gender equity review of NCAA women’s and men’s basketball programs:
Click here to read the Kaplan Hecker report and Desser media valuation.
“The Kaplan Hecker report commissioned by the NCAA and released today validates gender equity concerns that have been voiced by the WBCA’s community of coaches since the NCAA’s management of women’s and men’s basketball championships came under public scrutiny in March. We thank the law firm of Kaplan Hecker and Fink LLC for its thorough review of this matter and this extensive report.
“The report is exhaustive. It will take some time for us to carefully read, and we will comment on the report more extensively in the near future. However, a virtual briefing conducted by Kaplan Hecker, which I just attended, suggests the report addresses every issue of great concern, including branding, marketing and staffing of the women’s championship; allocation of resources, funding and revenue distribution; broadcast and media rights agreements; corporate partnerships; reporting structure within the NCAA national office; and the overall experience of the student-athletes competing in the women’s and men’s championships.
“The independent media valuation of college women’s basketball prepared by Desser Media Inc., which supplements the Kaplan Hecker report, far exceeds any previous such media valuations of the sport. We urge the NCAA to revisit with its media partners all broadcast rights agreements that include women’s basketball — specifically its contract with ESPN — as soon as possible to ensure the NCAA, the conferences, and the member institutions are being fairly compensated for the product our sport puts on the floor.
“The WBCA looks forward to working with the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee, the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, and other appropriate groups within the NCAA governance structure to swiftly implement the recommendations contained in the Kaplan Hecker report for the benefit of student-athletes, coaches and the game itself.”
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