NCAA probe finds ‘systemic’ gender disparities, recommends combined basketball Final Four

The NCAA has for years treated women’s basketball as inferior to men’s, a stinging external review found, dramatically undervaluing and undermining the women’s game in ways that go far beyond the substandard weight rooms exposed at its championships in March.

The report, released Tuesday by the law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP, recommends significant reforms to the NCAA’s basketball programs, including a combined Final Four tournament for men and women and changes in the organization’s leadership structure, media contracts and revenue payments. Read More