Two Final Fours

Over the weekend, a topic that had first been discussed a few years ago before going dormant was revived.  Florida's head coach was even asked about it in his press conference on the practice day before the National Championship Game.  And, while he didn't exactly endorse the idea, he admitted that having the Men's and Women's Final Fours in the same city could be "cool."  It wouldn't be.  It's actually a pretty terrible idea.

Now, it's not like this is being seriously considered at the moment.  Even if it was, nothing would be imminent.  The NCAA has already announced the tournament and Final Four sites for both the men and women until 2031, and they'll continue to be at different sites at least until then.  And hopefully beyond.  Because they're two distinct events that should be treated as such.

Those in the "pro" camp see combined Final Fours as a celebration of basketball, which it undoubtedly would be.  They've also made the argument that it would be easier on media and school representatives, who'd then be able to cover both Final Fours instead of having to choose.  Likewise, if a school's men's and women's teams both made it, their fans wouldn't have to decide which team to support/Final Four to attend and could all congregate in the same place instead.

And the Final Four schedules are already staggered, so there's no issue there.  The women play Friday night and Sunday afternoon.  The men play Saturday night and Monday night, which causing grumbling among college basketball fans every year, but has been the same for 40 years and won't be changing anytime soon.  So, schedule-wise it would definitely work.

However, the Men's and Women's Tournaments are aired by different networks.  The men's games are on CBS and Turner.  The women's games are on ESPN.  Whose cameras/crew would be used?  Because having each network use their own and set up/break down after each game would just be stupid.  And I doubt either would be willing to cede to the other. 

There's also the issue of the actual venue.  The Men's Final Four is played in a football stadium.  The Women's Final Four is played in an NBA/NHL arena.  As a result, the Women's Final Four is able to go many more places than the men can.  Upcoming Women's Final Fours are in Columbus, OH (2027) and Portland (2030), two places that don't have the domed football stadiums necessary to host the Men's Final Four.  If they were combined, it would limit the number of places the women could go.  They'd have less options and, like the men, end up going back to the same places over and over.

Of course, proponents of the combined Final Fours would likely propose one of two solutions to the dome vs. arena thing.  The first is playing in the same city, but two different venues.  The men stay in the dome, while the women play in the NBA/NHL arena in that city.  How would that look, though?  It would make the women look like second class citizens who aren't as important as the men.  And, while those venues are close to each other in some cities, in others, they're in completely different parts of the city.  Which would defeat the whole idea of a Fan Fest.

Likewise, having the women also play in the dome is risky because of the attendance.  They can sell out a 20,000-seat arena.  Can they sell out a 70,000-seat football stadium?  Any empty seats, regardless of how many, wouldn't be a good look, either.  And not to mention all of the branding and how counterintuitive it would be to either (A) go back-and-forth or (B) co-brand two completely distinct events.

My biggest issue with the idea of combining the Men's and Women's Final Fours is much simpler, though.  It's because of the very real risk that the Women's Final Four would be completely overshadowed.  Of course, those advocating for this would argue the exact opposite, but they'd be wrong.  It wouldn't help the women's game the way they imagine to be paired with the men.  In fact, the women would likely become an afterthought.  Which they don't deserve at all.

Not only do the women not deserve to be overshadowed, they've proven they can carry the spotlight all on their own.  They don't need the men to garner media coverage and fan interest, let alone sustain it.  The women's tournament has always existed as an independent entity and done just fine for itself.  And women's basketball is hotter now than it's ever been.  They should continue taking advantage of that momentum.  Having both Final Fours in the same place isn't the way to do that.

Frankly, it would be a slap in the face to the women.  It wouldn't be promoting them and the women's game.  It would be telling them that the NCAA/media/fans are either too lazy or don't care enough to follow both events separately, so they're making it easier for them.  Never mind the fact that it would completely erase all of the progress that has been made or that the event has clearly proven it can stand by itself.

It's also worth noting that, while we'll see the same school reach both Final Fours every once in a while, it's not exactly a common occurrence.  So, we're usually talking about eight different schools here.  And, even if a school does make a deep run in both the men's and women's tournaments, it's not like they're playing in the same place throughout.  The men will be in once place and the women will be in another the entire time, so whatever decision has to be made about which team they'll support will be made long before the Final Fours.  (And school administrators would likely have no problem traveling between cities to support both.)

That's the thing, too.  They're two completely separate, distinct events that exist independently.  The men play at all neutral sites in NBA arenas with eight teams per site.  The women play on campus with the top seeds playing home games and only four teams per site.  Likewise, the Regionals are played in different places.  So, why would the Final Fours, the culmination of these two tournaments be combined?  Especially when there's no reason for it?

For me, it's really that simple.  The Men's and Women's Final Four are totally different events.  Which is why they should remain as such.  Combining them is as unnecessary as it is stupid.  Neither side needs it, and it would hurt the women's game more than it would help either.  So, suggesting a combined Final Four is just looking for the "solution" to something that isn't a problem.  What it would do, however, is create one.