The NCAA Men’s Division 1 basketball tournament may get most of the attention when people talk about March Madness, but women’s sports have been ascendant in both competition and popularity over the last few years.
This is especially true since Caitlin Clark took NCAA Women’s basketball by storm, becoming the top all-time scorer and the first overall draft pick to the Indiana Fever. Plus, there’s the emergence of a new professional women’s hockey league, the PWHL, and a WNBA expansion on the horizon.
That’s why we’re so excited to see all the action on the court during the 2025 Women’s March Madness NCAA Division 1 women’s tournament, which tips off on March 19.
Don’t want to miss a single moment? Here’s your guide to watching every bit of Women’s March Madness.
And, you can watch it all on DIRECTV!
Women’s March Madness Full Schedule & Key Dates
Here’s the full schedule for 2025 Women’s March Madness Tournament
- Selection Sunday: 8 p.m. ET Sunday, March 16 on ESPN
- First Four: March 19-20
- First round: March 21-22
- Second round: March 23-24
- Sweet 16: March 28-29 (Legacy Arena, Birmingham AL & Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, WA)
- Elite Eight: March 30-31 (Legacy Arena, Birmingham AL & Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, WA)
- Final Four: Friday, April 4 at 7 p.m. with the second semifinal starting 30 minutes after the first game ends. (Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL)
- NCAA National Championship Game: Sunday, April 6 at 3 p.m. ET (Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL)
How to Watch 2025 Women’s March Madness
The 2025 Women’s March Madness basketball tournament will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN (DIRECTV channel 206), and you can stream it on ESPN+.
Find your local ABC affiliate here.
2025 Women’s March Madness Format
Basketball tournament formats can be complex and confusing for those new to the sport. Here’s how it all works:
The Women’s NCAA Basketball tournament consists of 68 teams, with 32 earning automatic bids as conference champions and the rest receiving at-large bids selected by the NCAA committee.
The tournament begins with the First Four, where the lowest-ranked teams compete for a spot in the round of 64. It is divided into four regional tournaments, with teams seeded from 1 to 16.
The Women’s Final Four is typically played on the Friday before the Men’s Final Four, with the championship game held on Sunday afternoon following the men’s final.
2025 Women’s March Madness Odds
So, who’s the favorite to win Women’s March Madness this year? Will the South Carolina Gamecocks pull off a repeat win, or will the UConn Huskies join their Men’s March Madness counterparts, last year’s champs, at the top of the tournament bracket this year?
Let’s take a look at the current top contenders by the odds (as of Feb. 19, 2025):
- South Carolina Gamecocks: +185 – South Carolina is the defending champion, taking down Iowa to win it all in last year’s tournament. They’re a force on the court and the clear favorite this year.
- UCLA Bruins: +350
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish: +425
- UConn Huskies: +575
- USC Trojans: +650
- Texas Longhorns: +700
Want to put your own predictions to the test? Use this printable Women’s March Madness bracket to see how you do!
Watch Women’s Basketball on DIRECTV
You can watch the entirety of the 2025 Women’s March Madness tournament — and catch women’s college basketball games on TV every day — on DIRECTV.
Don’t have DIRECTV yet? Let’s fix that now.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the 2025 Women's March Madness Tournament?
Women's March Madness kicks off on March 19th and concludes on April 6th.
What channel is March Madness on?
ABC and ESPN
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