Perhaps it is a result of a rugged economy or maybe having the men's Final Four also being held in the midwest forced some to make a choice but there is no questioning that tickets are available for tomorrow night's championship game between UConn and Louisville.

The NCAA has been asking help from UConn and Louisville media outlets to publicize the fact that tickets are remaining.

"You did see some holes, particularly in the upper level last night (at the semifinals)," said Sue Donohue, vice president of Division I women's basketball. "I think it's a reflection of the difficult economic times right now."

It hasn't been the best of years for the tournament with top seeds being forced to play on the home courts of lower seeds (No. 9 seed Michigan State hosting No. 1 Duke and eliminating the top seed in the Berkeley Regional with the aid of the home crowd).

"Our numbers were slightly down," said Jacki Silar, the chairperson of the NCAA Division I committee. "But we also out of our 16 (subregional) sites we had six of them that were totally neutral sites, which didn't have a home team playing. In '04, when our attendance was the highest ever, out of the 16 only two were neutral. So it's kind of a combination."

The decision to revert back to the 16 predetermined sites for the first and second rounds came as a result of poor attendance when the move was made to eight subregional sites.

"It's difficult, there's no doubt about it," Donohue said. "You look at higher seeds playing on lower seeds' floor. And I don't think any of us that walk in the world of women's basketball want that, but where we are with the game right now, that's the reality of it. There are a lot of coaches that understand, you know what, if I'm a 2 seed and I'm playing an 8 or a 9 on their floor, hopefully a 2 seed's going to be the stronger team. Sometimes that's not always the case.

"I think the committee made the decision a few years ago to try eight sites with eight teams. It was a risk. And after three or four years and evaluating it, it didn't do what we needed it to do. The most successful format we've been in, bar none, eight sites, eight teams, 16, top 16 seeds, the best format from an attendance standpoint, a logistical and operational standpoint, is 16 predetermined (sites). But you look at some of our sites this year that didn't have a team there, and that's not the championship experience that you want. So it's something that we've all got to keep working on together."