Just over a decade ago, Maryland freshman Kristi Toliver's three-point shot with 6.1 seconds remaining in Monday's NCAA women's basketball championship game would have sparked only peripheral interest in most Boston sports fans.
Even as women's college basketball has gained national momentum and popularity, this trend has not been reflected in Boston, known for its professional sports franchises and home to largely academic and Div. III colleges.
The past weekend's Final Four festivities certainly revealed a changing attitude toward the sport: Boston has done a complete 180 over the past few years, and that transformation was completed when the city became a sort of Mecca of women's hoops this weekend.
Despite the early exit of Connecticut and Tennessee - the two goliaths largely responsible for the game's growth and popularity - and the lack of local players on the remaining rosters, all Final Four games were played in front of packed houses. The title game sold 18,642 tickets alone, drawing more fans than any Boston Celtics game this year, and television ratings were up 19 percent from last year.
As many as 2.77 million households across the nation tuned into the game, a sizable increase from the 2.37 million who watched last year. In its 11th year covering the tournament, ESPN averaged a 1.48 rating, the second highest in the network's history.
Women's basketball reached its greatest heights in 2004 when it averaged 3.8 million household viewers for the championship game between UConn and Tennessee, the second highest rating for any game on ESPN ever.
The NCAA has been working to increase exposure and interest in the women's game for the past several years. In an attempt to rescue it from the shadows of the men's game and place it in its own spotlight, the NCAA scheduled the announcement of brackets for a Monday night this year, rather than on the coattails of the men's traditional announcement on Selection Sunday.
"Selection Monday expands our commitment to the women's game by seizing an entire day to focus on the sport's most exciting time of the year across multiple ESPN entities," said Carol Stiff, ESPN Senior Director of Programming and Acquisitions, in a press release. "This program enhancement will allow college basketball fans to center their attention on the women, while also contributing to our ongoing efforts to grow the sport."
ESPN has noticed and propagated the greater interest in the other half of NCAA basketball, and as a result has increased its primetime coverage. It broadcast 125 games in the 2005-2006 season, 25 games more than in the previous year.
Riding the wave of publicity in Boston, the WNBA held its draft in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center less than 24 hours after Maryland completed its astonishing 13-point comeback victory. Additionally, on the same day as the championship game, Emerson College hosted the WNBA pre-draft camp, showcasing the top prospects of 2006.This was the first time that the draft and pre-draft camp were held in the Final Four city and with such close proximity to the conclusion of the NCAA season.
Having little time to recuperate from her losses, LSU's Seimone Augustus was the No. 1 draft pick; she went to the Minnesota Lynx. Rutgers' dynamic guard Cappie Poindexter went No. 2 to the Phoenix Mercury, and Duke guard Monique Currie, still facing pointed questions about the Blue Devils' loss to Maryland in the championship game, was the No. 3 pick, drafted by the Charlotte Sting.
The draft was only the beginning for WNBA promotions in 2006. In honor of its 10th season, the league will select an All-Decade Team and the 10 Greatest Moments in its history. It will also launch a season-long campaign, "10 Years of Caring," in which the teams will demonstrate their ongoing commitment to local communities. Each team will host a themed-game to celebrate the milestone.
"This celebration marks the accomplishments of our past and embraces our vision for the future," said WNBA President Donna Orender at a press conference at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. "We are so thankful for all of those who paved the way and contributed so much, and for the ongoing support of the current generation of players, coaches and executives as well as our business partners and fans with whom we will take this league into the future."
