There is no counting how many thank-you notes Sedona Prince might receive this month: from the four additional teams that will participate in the now 68-team women’s basketball tournament; from the participating players, whose gift bags will now be identical to those received by their male counterparts; from the new employees the N.C.A.A. hired to beef up its women’s tournament staff; and from the tournament referees, who will now be paid the same as the officials who call the men’s game.
And the hat tips may not stop there.
They could come from the coaches, administrators, fans and other women’s sports champions who for years have cajoled or cried out — even from postage-stamp-size soap boxes — for the N.