Seimone Augustus has become a household name.

BOSTON -- College basketball historians like to credit Magic Johnson and Larry Bird for creating the madness we enjoy today. Back when Bird and Magic met in 1979, there was no 64-team field, nobody worried about which 12 was knocking off a 5, buildings like the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City were considered Final Four quality, and you'd be lucky to catch a first- and second-round game on television.

And before I forget, back then, there wasn't a Women's Final Four. The NCAA wanted nothing to do with women's sports, fighting several unsuccessful court battles against Title IX in the 1970s. The women had to wait until 1982 to get their own NCAA championships (in all sports) and thus the NCAA Women�s Final Four was born.

The Women's Final Four has come a long way since Louisiana Tech beat Cheyney State in the inaugural event 25 years ago. That game was played in front of a half empty building in Norfolk, Virginia. When UNC and Maryland tip off on Sunday night, they'll be doing so in front of more than 19,000 people at an NBA arena. They'll also be doing it on the premier network in sports, during prime time. And either Ivory Latta or Seimone Augustus will have a picture on the front page of every sports page in America come Monday morning.

The Final Four hasn't just become a big game, but big business too. The 2003 Final Four in Atlanta brought in nearly $35 million to the local economy. Every major hotel in the downtown Boston area has been booked for this weekend. And scalpers and ticket brokers are selling tickets for hundreds of dollars above face value. (It would be more if UConn hadn't lost.)

Because of this, cities are literally bowling over each other to host the event, which like the men's event seems to be headed towards domes-only status. Cleveland will host in 2007 and Tampa Bay in 2008 before the Alamodome, Edward Jones Dome, and the new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis host in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

But while the event seems to be enjoying the vast fruits of success, many will point out that further steps need to be taken. Whether that's addressing the allegations against Penn State head coach Rene Portland's treatment of homosexual players or by forcing North Carolina, a one seed, to play its second round game against Vanderbilt on their home floor just to sell some extra tickets.  

For example, Christine Brennan of USA Today has brought to my attention that only a fraction of people who signed up for ESPN.com's Men's Tournament Challenge filled out a bracket for the Women's Tournament. Something I don't have a problem with considering my 24,045th place women's bracket as opposed to 2,346,267th place with the men.

But shouldn't we be able to expand our nationwide love of all things brackets to the women's tournament? Especially when we overanalyze our men's brackets to the point where we believe Pittsburgh and Iowa are legitimate Final Four contenders?  Those people who are sick of losing to Lois in accounting because she picked her son's school, George Mason, might come to realize they have a better chance filling out a women�s bracket anyway. To know, is to seriously $%^# over your bracket anyways.

Recruiting has certainly changed over the past 15 years, especially when it comes to the women's game. With the advent of the internet and with more schools choosing to invest in their women's basketball program, heated battles over 15- and 16-year-old phenoms are becoming commonplace. I recently wrote on this site that Ayla Brown verbally declared her intent to play at Boston College before she got her drivers license. But others, who maybe aren't as sure as Brown about her college choice, could end up being persuaded to make bad college decisions. With added interest in recruiting also comes the added risk of false promises, not to mention the added risk of teams getting in trouble with potential NCAA rules violations.

As for coaching, a friend of mine likes to remind me that Geno Auriemma signed his first contract with the University of Connecticut for mere chunk change over Dunkin Donuts. "Did they go through the drive thru?" he quips. Two decades later he's one of Connecticut's highest paid state employees, men's head coach Jim Calhoun is another. Guess which one is irreplaceable?

Auriemma and Pat Summit are the exception, not the rule. The simple fact is that many women's coaches are underpaid and under appreciated while their underachieving male counterparts are stealing money from their respective universities. (See Harrick, Jim, University of Georgia)  I'm not advocating that we should pay men's and women's coaches equally, but if the new head men's basketball coach at Rutgers is making more than the legendary C. Vivian Stringer, it would be a crying shame.

Yet, even with the troubles facing women�s basketball, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that isn't astonished at the progress the sport has made over the past 25 years. (Okay, maybe not Martha Burke, but she's busy preparing her Masters protest.) From the ESPN television coverage, advances in recruiting to playing a Final Four in front of 30,000 people at the RCA Dome, the sport has come a long way.

And this is only the beginning.

Jake Duhaime is a regular contributor to Atomic Sports Meida and is covering the NCAA women's Final Four in Boston. Since 1972, he has spent more time with Lord Stanley's Cup than have his beloved Bruins. When he isn't convincing people the NHL Playoffs are riveting television, he can be found going sober for months at a time, saving up petty cash to go to the Super Bowl, Final Four, World Series or any other major sporting event out there. He can be reached at jake.duhaime@atomicsportsmedia.com.

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