2003 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
The 2003 NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament ran from March 22 to April 8, 2003. The Final Four was at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 6–8, 2003. Connecticut Huskies, coached by Geno Auriemma, won the national title by defeating Tennessee 73–68 in the championship game. Diana Taurasi of UConn was named the Most Outstanding Player.
This year introduced a new format: the final championship game was played on the Tuesday after the men’s championship, instead of on Sunday night as before. The field stayed at 64 teams.
Structure and field
- 64 teams competed, with 31 automatic bids from conferences and 33 at-large bids.
- Teams were seeded 1–16 in four regions.
- For 2003, first and second round sites were determined about a year before selections and seedings.
- The regionals (the four locations used to determine the Final Four teams) were held March 29–April 1, with the winners advancing to Atlanta for the Final Four.
Participation and attendance
- Teams came from 32 states plus Washington, D.C.; Virginia had the most bids with five.
- Nineteen conferences went 0–1 in the tournament.
- Total attendance for the event was 334,587.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 01:31 (CET).