The use of officials announcing the outcome of replay reviews might be extended beyond this year's women's NCAA tournament.
ESPN and the NCAA have been so pleased with the feedback that they will have offseason discussions about implementing replay announcements not only for the tournament but also during the regular season.
"I'd expect some of the other broadcast partners to be interested in adopting that," said Penny Davis, the NCAA's national coordinator of officials for women's basketball. "We will train our officials for that. I do see that as a potential."
ESPN used the announcements at conference tournaments last month and then requested it for this year's NCAA tournament. The practice was first implemented by the NBA, beginning with last year's games in the Orlando bubble, because of coronavirus protocols that prevent officials from talking directly to announcers about replay decisions.
"It is a huge service to our fans, explaining exactly what the call on the floor is, what they are reviewing and the results of the review. We certainly appreciate the transparency from the NCAA officiating crew," said Pat Lowry, ESPN's coordinating producer for the women's tournament.
Davis noted that the feedback from ESPN and the announcers has been positive and that fans see it as a service because they are receiving explanations directly from the officials.
"It takes the rules and knowledge of the technical piece off" the announcers, Davis said. "Sometimes they use the terminology from the pro game or men's game instead of terminology we have in the women's game."