The lucrative marketing slogan “March Madness,” long used by the N.C.A.A. to brand its Division I men’s college basketball tournament, will also be used next year to promote the top women’s tournament.
The change, announced Wednesday, was a response to widespread criticism that the N.C.A.A. had shortchanged its women’s tournament for years, building up a gender divide within college sports that hindered the growth of women’s basketball.
Inclusion of “March Madness” in the marketing of the Division I women’s tournament was one of the recommendations from an outside review of the N.C.A.A. championships that was prompted by complaints during the 2021 men’s and women’s tournaments.