The committee convenes for its final time as March Madness takes its full shape. The weekend concludes with a Selection Sunday special in women’s basketball. We’ll see an official top-seed coronation for the likes of UConn, UCLA and South Carolina, plus Cinderella origin stories for different bubble hopefuls.
Here’s what to know and when to tune in for the festivities.
How to watch the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Selection Show
This broadcast is also available on ESPN Unlimited and Disney+.
Christine Williamson hosts the program for ESPN. She’s been with the network since 2019, and she graduated from the University of Miami. Williamson is flanked by an impressive crew of former hoopers.
Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo anchored the Connecticut team that went undefeated in 1994-95. Three-time All-American Chiney Ogwumike reps Stanford. The studio desk also touts analyst Andraya Carter, who played at Tennessee, and reporter Holly Rowe, who has been with ESPN for almost three decades now.
Women’s March Madness expanded to 68 teams in 2022, which the men’s side did back in 2011. The 31 conference tourney champs get automatic NCAA Tournament bids. The other 37 entrants wait nervously for an at-large bid, which mostly pull from the power conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC).
Picks are decided by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, which is made up of 12 members on five-year terms. The committee includes conference commissioners and athletic directors from around the country. Members cannot vote for the program or conference that they represent.
As of 2020-21, the committee uses a metric called the NCAA Evaluation Tool, or NET. It weighs season results by efficiency and strength of opponent. Starting this season, the committee is also considering Wins Above Bubble, or WAB. That algorithm compares tourney hopefuls against the expected wins of an average bubble squad. In short, NET measures a team’s ability, while WAB measures its accomplishments.
All 68 selections are ranked one by one. Programs then get a corresponding seed. Those ranked in the top four are No. 1 seeds, the next four are No. 2 seeds, and so on. The four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams battle for spots in the First Four play-in.
Selection Sunday broadcasts often show the live reactions of players and coaches as they learn of their fates. It makes for excellent TV.
2026 women’s NCAA Tournament schedule
RoundLocationDates
First Four
Top seeds host
March 18-19
First Round
Top seeds host
March 20-21
Second Round
Top seeds host
March 22-23
Sweet 16
Fort Worth, Texas
Sacramento, Calif.
March 27-28
Elite Eight
Fort Worth, Texas
Sacramento, Calif.
March 29-30
Final Four
Phoenix
April 3
National Championship
Phoenix
April 5
Last 10 national champions in women’s basketball
YearChampionMOP
2025
UConn
Azzi Fudd
2024
South Carolina
Kamilla Cardoso
2023
LSU
Angel Reese
2022
South Carolina
Aliyah Boston
2021
Stanford
Haley Jones
2020
N/A (pandemic)
N/A (pandemic)
2019
Baylor
Chloe Jackson
2018
Notre Dame
Arike Ogunbowale
2017
South Carolina
A’ja Wilson
2016
UConn
Breanna Stewart
2015
UConn
Breanna Stewart
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