NATIONAL COLLEGE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION MEDIA CONFERENCE

March 11, 2003

Cheryl Marra

CHERYL MARRA: Thank you, Scottie, and thank all of you who have joined the call today. It's obviously a very exciting time. We certainly appreciate your interest and what you bring to the championship as far as the media and the different outlets that we have. This is a very exciting year. I'm sure all of you are very aware we have a few changes that have happened in the women's championship, starting with having all 63 games on TV. This is the first time that will have happened, and we are very fortunate to be working once again with ESPN, our partners, to provide this coverage that they've had for so many years. But it will, in fact, provide a different look for the championship with all the people who are great supporters to be able to follow their teams right from the beginning now - with the players, the teams, and the coaches. Another major change for us is going to predetermined sites, which, in fact, has raised many questions, I know, throughout the year leading up to this. But having those sites already predetermined at 16 different locations certainly have allowed us to get in preparation for the events, for the media, for television, and for sales of tickets as well. That is another change within our championship. And the third one is the Sunday-Tuesday format for the Final Four, which will be something new as well for this year. So we have a few changes in the works for our championship. But the one thing I do feel very, very good about with our 10-member committee is that the selection and the seeding will go on with the integrity that it always has. While these changes are somewhat large in scope, they will not detract at all from what our intention is, and that is to put the best bracket forward that we possibly can. So with that, I will just open it up to questions and hopefully can provide the answers.

CHERYL MARRA: I think when we get to that point, and those are the two considerations that we would look at , certainly keeping them in an area where their fans might be able to follow them and have less distance for them to travel, but at the same time trying to provide them with a neutral floor as the No. 1 seed so they aren't going up against a home crowd . Those would be two things that would be under consideration. Again, it would depend on how far we might ask them to travel to put them in that neutral bracket.

CHERYL MARRA: Well, geography is one of those things, one of the criteria we look at, when, in fact, we are placing teams into brackets and where exactly we will send them. As you know, we try not to ask any team to go more than one time zone difference as we are moving them, particularly with the higher-seeded teams. So that will be a criteria that we use when we are making that determination.

CHERYL MARRA: At this point in time we do anticipate it being more than one year. However, we will have the opportunity to sit down and reflect back on all the changes that we're making with this particular championship. But it is not just experimental; it is an understanding that we are going forward with the new Sunday-Tuesday format.

CHERYL MARRA: Well, I guess I might ask, define "fair."

CHERYL MARRA: Certainly. Obviously, when we go into this, we haven't predetermined who we'll be giving a home seed advantage to because the selections of the sites are not hand-in-hand with exactly who the No. 1 seeds are going to be. So as you look forward to this, what we are trying to do by determining the predetermined sites comes with different advantages at this point in time than we've had in the past. When you look at the No. 1 seeds who might not be hosting, it certainly will be our intention to put them in a position that allows them to have other advantages. For example, you might try geographically to put them in an area that's close, while they might not be on their floor. You might also try very hard to put them on a neutral site that might, in fact, take away some of the disadvantages that might also be there. But remember, some of the reasons that we went towards predetermined sites in our hope to advance to neutral sites are for the broader picture of what we're trying to do for women's basketball, and it's not team-specific as we're moving forward. "Fair" is a relative term. I think if you are a No. 1 seed, one would think that you ought to have that opportunity to continue to advance by playing those teams that are not as highly seeded as you are. But I think as we went forward, we tried to do a balance of those schools that might have the potential to be in the tournament versus those that might potentially also be neutral sites to be as fair as we possibly could.

CHERYL MARRA: Exactly. Like I say, one thing we will have the benefit of doing this year that we haven't is after we go through this for one particular year, to step back and see what were the strengths, what were the weaknesses, and if there might be something different we might do as we're going forward to select these predetermined sites.

CHERYL MARRA: I think each year you have to set aside on its own merits any lumping that happens traditionally happens because of the number of teams of a particular conference that might choose to get in. Clearly, there is never an intent when we go into selection to talk about lumping or putting certain teams together in certain regions. If you took a look at the process and what goes into that process, it is merely putting those teams in the tournaments and then going through the seeding process. Many times it's where those tend to fall out, and after you put the safety nets in, that determine what exactly a bracket is going to look like. I can certainly tell you from the committee's standpoint that we do not anticipate the process in selection or seeding changing at all, even though we have the predetermined sites at this point in time. And so I'm not sure exactly where that fear is coming from. Again, you can't take last year's and put it on top of this year's because it's a whole new bracket.

CHERYL MARRA: Well, actually, it's almost impossible to go through a dry run without having some preconceived ideas of what you might do. I think that is one of the things that is a benefit of the committee, that they stay awfully broad-minded, open-minded to the entire scope and look of what we are looking at until we actually do have everything in place. There are an awful lot of important conference tournaments that were played just this past weekend that started to shift at least my focus of potential seeds, and I know there are some very important conference matchups coming this weekend, that it would be a little premature to actually predispose what might happen.

CHERYL MARRA: Now you're... Scottie, do you have that information in front of you?

CHERYL MARRA: I absolutely do. If you take a look at what our criteria are and what our process is for seeding teams, we have always had the ability to move them typically one seed. So if you're a 12, you had the potential to move up to an 11 if, in fact, we are trying to protect the safety nets in the past or geographically we are trying to make this work for all the teams involved. So we still will have that flexibility to move somebody one seed. We have also, in the past, moved somebody across, if you're a 7 seed, to if you're in an area where you might have that potential conflict where you won't have anybody in that grouping that is hosting and there's not a neutral site available, to move them across. So a No. 7 has actually three different or four different areas that you could place them as a No. 7. And if, in fact, you still had a problem with finding them a home, you could potentially move that 7 to a 6 or move that 7 to an 8. And I have to say, I know all of you are basketball fans, that you realize how much parity is out there this year. I think each year that's the word we use when we're talking about the women's basketball across the country; that parity has certainly arrived. This year more than ever I certainly would say that there's an awful lot of parity. So where, in fact, you're going to be placed in the bracket in terms of seeding will be a challenge for our committee this particular time.

CHERYL MARRA: Sure. I don't know that we're necessarily trying to look more like the men's game. The comparison, I suppose, people are drawing is the fact that the men are playing on neutral sites. And that, too, is a goal that I think everybody involved with women's basketball would ultimately like to get towards. Neutral sites provides more balance, provides more fairness to address one of the questions that was asked earlier. And so I think it is our goal to move in that direction. At this point in time, the steps that we chose to take this year with predetermined sites, is a step towards that, where we're going off of guaranteed sites for those that are the Top 16 hosts because, in fact, that did not allow everybody the opportunity to potentially host if they chose to do so. So we have taken one step towards some neutrality, in some cases, in our hope to go to a neutral format. That, in fact, is what the men have at this point in time, and there are an awful lot of benefits to doing that.

CHERYL MARRA: Which jump, the neutral sites?

CHERYL MARRA: Well, I don't think so. I think this year, if I'm not mistaken, we have, in fact, sold as many, if not a few more tickets, than we did last year in the first and second round. So the steps we've taken have already allowed us to broaden the fan base that is out there by having advanced time to market, promote, and sell tickets. So I think that step has certainly folded in, and those tickets have been sold before the sites even know who might be going there which, in fact, could increase that base again. So I think, in fact, we needed to take that move. And in addition, it is important for television to have that lead time to be able to put the 63 games on TV and to do the best job they possibly can to have some lead time to set that up as well. So there are a variety of factors that are folded into how we might be advancing the women's game, which, in fact, is one of our objectives as we're moving forward with some of these decisions.

CHERYL MARRA: Well, there's no doubt that some of these conferences have certainly come on this particular year, which has added to the parity that we will be facing. There are several conferences that maybe at one point in time were one-team conferences in the past and have certainly put themselves into position to go deeper. Or, after that automatic is taken, that they now become in the mix with all the other at-large teams that they might not have had in the past. Certainly, Conference USA and several conferences around the country have become stronger year after year, and they have certainly put themselves in position for us to have to take a look at several teams in that particular conference.

CHERYL MARRA: Clearly, it does (laughing). Parity does several things. It allows you to have more competitive games, certainly, and better games. But it also makes it a little bit more of a challenge as you are broadening the teams that traditionally might have been in there and making room for all those who have made advancements with the women's program. And, in fact, that's a good thing.

CHERYL MARRA: Actually, those have not been predetermined. Those were put on there so that people would know where those regions are going to be. And, in fact, the committee still has the discretion, the ability to make that determination at our meetings this weekend. What you've seen on the poster is to let you know the four sites, but they have not yet been paired.

CHERYL MARRA: Well, one thing that is a little bit different for the committee is we used to spend an awful lot of time - and while we will continue to do that - in taking a look at that 1 through 6 team, because there was so much emphasis on being able to play at home. I think there will be a little bit of a shift of the critical nature of keeping, protecting those seeds for home-site advantage now. And with the parity that is out there this year, I believe the seeding of this championship is really going to take on a great deal of weight relative to distinguishing between so many teams - more than we've ever had.

CHERYL MARRA: Clearly, when we go through the process of selecting teams into the tournament and then seeding them, it is merely based on what, in fact, they have done during the season. So we take a look at their win-loss record, their strength of schedule, the RPI that factors in so many different facets of what they have had happen. So winning at home and winning on the road factors in there, but it certainly won't give them any more nod than it would any other team. So we do not anticipate that affecting our seeding this year. As much as they might like it to, it will not.

CHERYL MARRA: Well, clearly, while part of that decision was to try to continue to expose the game, and also finding the niche that would allow maximum exposure for television. And so having the Sunday-Tuesday format is going to be a new experience for us. I think in some ways, that's going to be something we review a lot more closely than looking at the predetermined sites. Because people now going to this event, which, in fact, it has become an event that we anticipate people will add on to their vacation and do a variety of things around, clearly moving in that direction was a result of trying to increase the exposure for the game and, in fact, trying to find a window that would best set that up for women's basketball. We will have our questions answered after we go through this for one year.

CHERYL MARRA: No, the men will stay with the Saturday-Monday format. So, in fact, this year for the first time, the women's championship game will be the last basketball game of the season as opposed to the men representing that in the past.

CHERYL MARRA: I'm not exactly sure how to answer that question, because in the past when the Top 16 seeds got to host, that was determinant of where we (inaudible) team. So there's always a possibility that we will be sending teams to new places that they have not been before. For example, I'm not aware that Cincinnati has hosted a first and second round. Obviously, there are teams that are going to go there that hhave never been there before. New Mexico, I'm not aware of recently where they have hosted a first and second round. So you're absolutely right, we will be sending some teams there that have never been there before. That is one of the things that was part of the consideration - to find sites around the country and to allow people to host that truly wanted to move forward and host the first and second round.

CHERYL MARRA: Again, it depends on once those brackets are put together and who, in fact, is in that particular bracket to make sure that the higher-seeded team does have an advantage relative to the amount of travel that they may have to do. So we always want to, if possible, keep them within their time zone; but if that can't be possible, to move them in either direction - east or west, within one time zone.

CHERYL MARRA: What that does - and you're right, that would be the grouping that would potentially be there - first of all, it allowed the city of Cincinnati to go out, market, and promote within their particular city and that particular state, for people to know in advance that they can come and watch four great teams play women's basketball. That is an advantage that I think a city like Cincinnati may not have had in the past, or those that are true basketball fans that are in that area have not had that opportunity in the past. It also allows us to have television come in there and have each and every one of those games on TV, which certainly advances the women's game. You're able to follow your teams now right from the beginning as opposed to waiting until you got to a regional site and know who, in fact, you're following. So that certainly advances the game for any true basketball fans that are out there and want to follow women's basketball. So I think you have to look at a variety of different things that you're trying to incorporate all at the same time.

CHERYL MARRA: Well, again, it's hard to say that one is a priority over the other, because you don't know exactly who's going to end up at those particular sites. That's the beauty of everybody starting off the year all at the same place, to make a run as much as you possibly can to be one of those Top 64 teams. Each and every game is an important game. Each and every one has the potential to advance somebody to the next game. When you are doing that, you have to be able to put a variety of factors together and say all of them are important, and how do you move forward with getting teams on television, how do you move forward with fans having the opportunity to come to the game, and at the same time give them great games to watch, and do you do that at the expense of maybe just setting up the top seeds always to be hosting and not advancing that at all. It's a tough call, but, in fact, we believe that this was a step that was in the right direction.

CHERYL MARRA: Well, there's no doubt that television has played a part in this. I think we'd be remiss if we did not certainly acknowledge that. But I do believe that this was in the works to go to predetermined sites before ESPN had done the contract that we could, in fact, televise 63 games. There has been discussion - I'm sure you probably have received the information - for about seven years as to "How can we move the game forward ultimately leading to neutral sites?" That discussion has been ongoing, and we believe will be the ultimate once we can get to neutral sites. So this was a step in between. This is a step where we believe that while the country might not be ready to follow women's basketball neutrally, they certainly want to continue to follow their particular teams, and how can we do that and yet let everybody around the country have access to that. It was a step in the right direction, but it didn't go as far as some would have liked.

CHERYL MARRA: That's correct.

CHERYL MARRA: In fact, that very well could happen. The four regional sites, three of the four regional sites are also hosting first and second rounds. In each of those cases, if their teams would get into the championship and then in turn continue to advance, they do have the possibility of being on their floor all the way through that.

CHERYL MARRA: This will be the first and only year that that's possible. In the future we have said that you cannot host a first and second round and a regional in the same particular year.

CHERYL MARRA: That's correct.

CHERYL MARRA: And we did that because by the time we went to predetermined sites for first and second round, these schools had already committed to regionals, and we did not think it was fair to disadvantage them from that opportunity.

CHERYL MARRA: Well, just so you know, this is not the first time that has been a potential. In the past when you had the Top 16 sites, or Top 16 seeds being the sites that were selected, several of them had also put in and received bids for a regional. So this is not a few phenomenon that's out there. There have been teams in the past that have certainly had that opportunity and taken advantage of that opportunity. So that's already been out there as a precedent.

CHERYL MARRA: At this point in time, no, we do not anticipate that.

CHERYL MARRA: That is not something we've ever looked at.

CHERYL MARRA: The men are conducting their deliberations at the same time we are. Obviously, what's most important is to protect the integrity of our championship, and they are protecting the integrity of theirs to make sure that those selected, those seeded and those placed within their particular brackets meet the goal of the championship, and that's to provide your best 64 teams in a format that provides for the best. So it may circumstance happen, but it is not something we would sit down and work on together.

CHERYL MARRA: Exactly, it would be, "Oh, look what happened," as opposed to the two committees getting together to make that determine.

CHERYL MARRA: We talked about it. That was something that did get quite a bit of deliberation with the committee taking a look at, now that we're going to move into predetermined sites, we need to put the bids out to see who, in fact, may choose to be one of those doing this for the first time. And if you precluded the four regional sites, the committee just felt that was very unfair. Had they known up front that you had a choice of first and second round or regionals, they may have chosen first and second round over regionals, so we would have put them at a distinct disadvantage in terms of what you get to choose to bid on. So we talked about it, we took a look at it. And, again, like I said earlier, the fact that it's been done in the past, while I don't have the statistics in front of me, there have been those who have hosted first, second round and regional and have gone through to the Final Four with that exact scenario. I know it could have happened last year. Iowa State was a Top 16 seed, and they had the chance to play at home in first and second round, and they were also hosting the regional. They didn't advance out of the first and second round, but they would have been put in that same position had they won. In the future that will not happen. Assuming we get enough bids for first and second round, they would have to decide one or the other.

CHERYL MARRA: It's called growing pains. As you are growing and you are trying to develop the product, there are things that aren't going to fall in line exactly what you wanted to have happen. It's the timing. It doesn't have to do with what your intent is; we still continue to have the same intent to move forward as neutral as we can, but there are steps that we have to take along the way to move there that are as fair as possible to those schools that are choosing to put the energy and the finances behind hosting this.

CHERYL MARRA: Well, in the future, those people that are hosting regionals will not have the opportunity to host first and second round. They will know that.

CHERYL MARRA: I think there's two ways to look at neutral. One is to look at those facilities that typically are not played by the college institutions but are still close. Some would say that's neutral because we still want the fans to continue to be able to follow their teams, but they'd be on a neutral floor. It wouldn't be their home facility. Then the second is to move totally away from them even having a chance to stay closer to home. I would venture to say that even the men have taken a step to try and get the teams that are in the championship closer to home if they possibly can, because I think that's important for the fans and for the institutions to be able to support them as they are going through. So clearly we are looking for regional possibilities where you have neutral arenas. In other words, cities might be bidding on regionals, as they do now for Final Four, and that's something we certainly are exploring to see if we can move some of our regional tournaments to host cities as opposed to host institutions. That is a step along the way as well.

CHERYL MARRA: I guess I haven't focused at this point in time on regional numbers to be able to honestly answer that. We've taken a look at the first and second rounds clearly to see where we are at that point in time. We anticipate - the one thing that is the unknown right now is who is in and where are they going and what kind of travel base will they take with them. Clearly, as you move along to the regionals, that's something that many times they are waiting to see where they are going to go.

CHERYL MARRA: We've talked about that as well, yes, if we could go from 16 sites to 8 sites. Again, I think one thing that you need to keep in mind is our ultimate goal is out there. The question is, what's the timing, as you take each of these steps to move forward. Right now, 16 sites on a campus, garnering support, having the television, trying to have some of those be neutral is a pretty big step, something we haven't done in the past. Then you might want to step forward and say, "Okay, when do you go from 16 sites to 8 sites? Do you ever go from 16 sites to 8 sites?" Could you, in fact, support that the same way right now that seems to be fairly well supported for the men. Certainly, part of our consideration. "Could you go off campus sites to neutral sites, or just cities that are supporting them?" There are an awful lot of factors that we want to take into effect. But as we do that, we protect some things that we think are very good about what we have, and that is the fan following, those that are supporting the particular teams, to moving more neutral for the tournament. There are a lot of different factors - and many of you have brought them up today - that are part of the consideration. It is very hard to determine which ones are the most important. For us right now, we select, we seed, and we bracket trying to make the best possible championship scenarios for those schools that have earned them during the year. All the other factors, where you're going to play and how you have the possibility to advance depending on hosting, are also factors - some within our control and some without. But clearly you've raised wonderful points, points that I would have to say the committee has looked at: How quick do you move to neutral? Could we possibly go to eight sites? Could we go off campus sites and have it even be more neutral? Fair enough, and I think it's part of the growing pains as we're going forward, but exciting times to be able to look at "do people think we have an interest," that we can go there.

CHERYL MARRA: You're right. I think some years the conference tournaments might not be quite as critical to some teams. The one thing I would have to say that I have looked at as I've watched these conference championships, it may not be so much that teams are using a conference championship to get into the tournament, as much as it's going to affect their seeds. I've seen some wonderful tournaments already, and they have clearly allowed the committee to look at how strong some of these teams are coming on toward the end of the season, how teams that might have started more slowly have continued to get better and better as the season has gone on, which potentially could affect how well they could be seeded as the tournament goes on. But I think each and every game throughout the season has put them in great position when they come to conference tournament time. More than anything, I've seen the tournaments having the potential to affect seeding this year as opposed to getting teams into the tournament - with the exception of the upsets. That is always great for the championship, to allow teams to access the tournament through automatics.