Women's basketball teams finally will be paid for playing games in the NCAA Tournament each March just like the men have for years under a plan approved Wednesday at the NCAA convention. The unanimous vote by NCAA membership was met by a round of applause both inside the ballroom and around the sport.

NCAA members unanimously voted to introduce financial rewards — as it has for years with the men's tournament — starting this spring.

Beginning with the 2025 NCAA Tournament, women’s college basketball will finally receive financial “units,” just as the men’s teams have for years. Units are multi-million dollar payments the NCAA awards to conferences based on the number of games a given team plays in the March Madness tournament.

Women's units will be worth far less, with a total of $15 million being awarded to NCAA tournament teams in 2025. The money will come from the women's basketball media revenue dea

Now, so-called performance units that represent revenue will be given to women’s teams playing in the tournament. A team that reaches the Final Four could bring its conference roughly $1.26 million over the next three years.

In a historic vote Wednesday at the NCAA convention in Nashville, the organization approved a plan to pay women's basketball teams for making the NCAA Tournament. Men's basketball teams have been reaping the benefits of the same revenue sharing plan for many years.

Power 4 schools’ proposals could push championship control away from the NCAA, while association president Charlie Baker continues to push for more teams in the men’s and women’s basketball fields.

Women’s basketball teams will be paid for playing games in the NCAA Tournament each March just like the men have for years under a plan approved Wednesday at the NCAA convention