DALLAS — The NCAA Women's Basketball Championship game is coming to Dallas in 2023, and for the first time ever, you can watch the game on WFAA!
The game will be played at the American Airlines Center on Sunday, April 2. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CST.
“Scheduling the Division I Women’s Basketball Championship on ABC has been a goal for quite some time in our ongoing efforts to maximize the exposure of women’s sports in collaboration with the NCAA,” said Burke Magnus, president of programming and original content. “Women’s NCAA Championships continue to generate strong audiences across the ABC/ESPN networks and this move represents yet another unique opportunity to showcase this marquee event and the student-athletes who are competing for a national championship.”
ESPN aired NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament games on ABC for the first time in 2021. That season, ABC aired two first round matchups and four Sweet 16 contests. The following year, in 2022, ABC added to its coverage of the women's basketball season with two regular season matchups alongside a number of tournament games.
“It’s a benchmark announcement for women’s basketball in being able to showcase the national championship game in Dallas for an expanded audience on ABC for the first time in 2023,” said Beth Goetz, chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and director of athletics at Ball State. “We are grateful to ABC/ESPN for the partnership in the continued growth of the game and championship.”
Earlier this month, the NCAA announced a new two-host format for the regional rounds, with eight competing teams playing at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, and eight at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
The 68 teams vying for a chance to compete for the national title in Dallas' AAC will be announced Selection Sunday, March 12, airing on ESPN at 7 p.m. CST.
Last season's national championship game between South Carolina and UConn was the most-viewed women's championship game in nearly 20 years with 4.85 million viewers, officials said. The semifinals averaged 2.1 million viewers, up 21% year-over-year. The entire tournament averaged 634,000 viewers, up 16% year-over-year.
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