 | |||||
| Season | 2019–20 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 64 (planned) | ||||
| Finals site | Smoothie King Center New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||
| Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||
| |||||
The 2020 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was scheduled to be played in March and April 2020, with the Final Four played Friday, April 3 and Sunday, April 5 to determine the champion of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Final Four was planned to be played at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, with the University of New Orleans, Tulane University and the Sun Belt Conference serving as hosts. This is the fourth time that New Orleans has been selected as a women's Final Four location (previously, in 1991, 2004, and 2013) and third time at the Smoothie King Center (previously named New Orleans Arena); the 1991 Final Four was contested at the University of New Orleans' Lakefront Arena. ESPN had planned to nationally televise all 63 games of the women's tournament for the first time ever.[1]
However, on March 12, the NCAA announced that this tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] It was the first time the tournament had been canceled since its creation in 1982.
- ^ Elchlepp, Kimberly (January 21, 2020). "NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship: Semifinals Move to ESPN; First and Second Rounds to Be Available Nationally" (Press release). ESPN Press Room. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
In its continued commitment to women's college basketball, ESPN will air the entire 2020 Women's Final Four (semifinals and championship) in primetime on the flagship network. Additionally, the entire first and second rounds of the women's championship will be available nationally on ESPN's television networks, eliminating regionalization.
- ^ "NCAA cancels March Madness tournaments, all other winter and spring championships". news.yahoo.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.