2003 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament


The 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament began on March 22, 2003, and concluded on April 8, 2003, when the Connecticut Huskies won their second straight national title. The Final Four was held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia on April 6–8, 2003. UConn, coached by Geno Auriemma, defeated archrival Tennessee, coached by Pat Summitt, 73–68 in the championship game. UConn's Diana Taurasi was named Most Outstanding Player.
This was the first year of a new format, in which the final game is held on the Tuesday following the men's championship, in contrast to prior years, when it was held on Sunday evening, between the men's semi-final and final. The game now is the final game of the Division 1 collegiate basketball season.

Tournament records

Sixty-four teams were selected to participate in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Thirty-one conferences were eligible for an automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA tournament.

Qualifying teams – at-large

Thirty-three additional teams were selected to complete the sixty-four invitations.

Bids by conference

Thirty-one conferences earned an automatic bid. In twenty-two cases, the automatic bid was the only representative from the conference. Thirty-three additional at-large teams were selected from nine of the conferences.
BidsConferenceTeams
7Big EastVillanova, Boston College, Connecticut, Miami Fla., Notre Dame, Rutgers, Virginia Tech
7SoutheasternLSU, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi St., South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
6Big TenPurdue, Illinois, Michigan St., Minnesota, Ohio St., Penn St.
5Big 12Texas, Colorado, Kansas St., Oklahoma, Texas Tech
5Conference USATCU, Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul, Tulane
4Atlantic CoastDuke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia
3Mountain WestNew Mexico, BYU, Utah
3Pacific-10Stanford, Arizona, Washington
2Atlantic 10George Washington, Xavier
1America EastBoston U.
1Atlantic SunGeorgia St.
1Big SkyWeber St.
1Big SouthLiberty
1Big WestUC Santa Barb.
1ColonialOld Dominion
1HorizonGreen Bay
1IvyHarvard
1Metro AtlanticManhattan
1Mid-AmericanWestern Mich.
1Mid-ContinentValparaiso
1Mid-EasternHampton
1Missouri ValleyMissouri St.
1NortheastSt. Francis Pa.
1Ohio ValleyAustin Peay
1PatriotHoly Cross
1SouthernChattanooga
1SouthlandTexas St.
1SouthwesternAlabama St.
1Sun BeltWestern Ky.
1West CoastPepperdine
1Western AthleticLouisiana Tech

First and second rounds

In 2003, the field remained at 64 teams. The teams were seeded, and assigned to four geographic regions, with seeds 1–16 in each region. In Round 1, seeds 1 and 16 faced each other, as well as seeds 2 and 15, seeds 3 and 14, seeds 4 and 13, seeds 5 and 12, seeds 6 and 11, seeds 7 and 10, and seeds 8 and 9. In 2003, a change was implemented in the way first and second round sites were determined. From 1982 through 2002, the first rounds sites were offered to the top seeds. Starting in 2003, sixteen sites for the first two rounds were determined approximately a year before the team selections and seedings were completed.
The following table lists the region, host school, venue and the sixteen first and second round locations:
RegionRndHostVenueCityState
East1&2Purdue UniversityMackey ArenaWest LafayetteIndiana
East1&2University of ConnecticutHarry A. Gampel PavilionStorrsConnecticut
East1&2Kansas State UniversityBramlage ColiseumManhattanKansas
East1&2Old Dominion UniversityTed Constant Convocation CenterNorfolkVirginia
Mideast1&2University of OklahomaLloyd Noble CenterNormanOklahoma
Mideast1&2University of TennesseeThompson-Boling ArenaKnoxvilleTennessee
Mideast1&2University of ColoradoCU Events Center BoulderColorado
Mideast1&2Pennsylvania State UniversityBryce Jordan CenterUniversity ParkPennsylvania
Midwest1&2University of GeorgiaGeorgia Coliseum AthensGeorgia
Midwest1&2North Carolina State UniversityReynolds ColiseumRaleighNorth Carolina
Midwest1&2University of New MexicoThe Pit AlbuquerqueNew Mexico
Midwest1&2Texas Tech UniversityUnited Spirit ArenaLubbockTexas
West1&2University of OregonMcArthur CourtEugeneOregon
West1&2Stanford UniversityMaples PavilionStanfordCalifornia
West1&2University of CincinnatiShoemaker CenterCincinnatiOhio
West1&2Louisiana Tech UniversityThomas Assembly CenterRustonLouisiana

Regionals and Final Four

The Regionals, named for the general location, were held from March 22 to March 25 at these sites:
Each regional winner advanced to the Final Four held April 6 and April 8 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia Dome,

Bids by state

The sixty-four teams came from thirty-two states, plus Washington, D.C. Virginia had the most teams with five bids. Eighteen states did not have any teams receiving bids.
BidsStateTeams
5VirginiaHampton, Liberty, Old Dominion, Virginia, Virginia Tech
4MassachusettsBoston U., Harvard, Holy Cross, Boston College
4TennesseeAustin Peay, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
4TexasTCU, Texas, Texas St., Texas Tech
3CaliforniaPepperdine, Stanford, UC Santa Barb.
3GeorgiaGeorgia St., Georgia, Georgia Tech
3IndianaPurdue, Valparaiso, Notre Dame
3LouisianaLouisiana Tech, LSU, Tulane
3North CarolinaDuke, Charlotte, North Carolina
3OhioCincinnati, Ohio St., Xavier
3UtahWeber St., BYU, Utah
2IllinoisDePaul, Illinois
2MichiganWestern Mich., Michigan St.
2New YorkManhattan, St. Francis Pa.
2PennsylvaniaVillanova, Penn St.
1AlabamaAlabama St.
1ArizonaArizona
1ArkansasArkansas
1ColoradoColorado
1ConnecticutConnecticut
1District of ColumbiaGeorge Washington
1FloridaMiami Fla.
1KansasKansas St.
1KentuckyWestern Ky.
1MinnesotaMinnesota
1MississippiMississippi St.
1MissouriMissouri St.
1New JerseyRutgers
1New MexicoNew Mexico
1OklahomaOklahoma
1South CarolinaSouth Carolina
1WashingtonWashington
1WisconsinGreen Bay

Brackets

Data Source

Mideast Region – Knoxville, Tennessee

Midwest Region – Albuquerque, New Mexico

East Region – Dayton, Ohio

West Region – Stanford, California

Final Four – Atlanta, Georgia

E-East; ME-Mideast; MW-Midwest; W-West.

Record by conference

Conference# of BidsRecordWin %Round
of 32		Sweet
Sixteen		Elite
Eight		Final
Four		Championship
Game
Big EastL15–6.714LL211
Southeastern714–7.66773211
Big Ten68–6.57143100
Big 12510–5.66743210
Conference USA51–5.16710000
Atlantic Coast46–4.60031110
Mountain West33–3.50021000
Pacific-1031–3.25010000
Atlantic 1021–2.33310000
Western Athletic12–1.66711000
Big West11–1.50010000
Horizon11–1.50010000

Nineteen conferences went 0–1: America East, Atlantic Sun Conference, Big Sky Conference, Big South Conference, Colonial, Ivy League, MAAC, MAC, Mid-Continent, MEAC, Missouri Valley Conference, Northeast Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, Patriot League, Southern Conference, Southland, SWAC, Sun Belt Conference, and West Coast Conference

All-Tournament Team