[82lsju]

The NCAA also said it will pay softball and lacrosse equitably as compared to their counterparts for men's games. The other 21 sports already had equitable pay.

but as crackpot points out this is just for NCAA tournaments, it would be interesting to see the comparison for regular season games

Yes, that is the interesting question.

I just assumed refs were paid on a seniority scale - and that might explain why in the aggregate women refs might earn less (assuming as a whole they are "later to the party" so to speak).  But it never crossed my mind that officials would be paid differently for men's games vs. women's games, including at college level, including for NCAA vs. non-NCAA game.

Is the justification that pace of men's game is faster and thus "harder" to call, meriting more $$?  If so, that seems like a dubious proposition.  Pace of play is team dependent and there are women's teams who push pace more than men's teams across the college landscape.

from the original article looks like "market forces"...

This isn't the first time that officials have made the same in the NCAA tournament. From 2001 to 2012, the two tournaments paid the same, but as men's referees starting making more in their conference games, the NCAA had to increase the pay in the tournament to get the best officials, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't allowed to speak publicly on the matter.

The pay for women's officials increased but not nearly at the same rate as they make in conference play. Unlike professional sports leagues, college officials are independent contractors.

[82lsju]

The NCAA also said it will pay softball and lacrosse equitably as compared to their counterparts for men's games. The other 21 sports already had equitable pay.

but as crackpot points out this is just for NCAA tournaments, it would be interesting to see the comparison for regular season games

Yes, that is the interesting question.

I just assumed refs were paid on a seniority scale - and that might explain why in the aggregate women refs might earn less (assuming as a whole they are "later to the party" so to speak).  But it never crossed my mind that officials would be paid differently for men's games vs. women's games, including at college level, including for NCAA vs. non-NCAA game.

Is the justification that pace of men's game is faster and thus "harder" to call, meriting more $$?  If so, that seems like a dubious proposition.  Pace of play is team dependent and there are women's teams who push pace more than men's teams across the college landscape.

from the original article looks like "market forces"...

This isn't the first time that officials have made the same in the NCAA tournament. From 2001 to 2012, the two tournaments paid the same, but as men's referees starting making more in their conference games, the NCAA had to increase the pay in the tournament to get the best officials, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't allowed to speak publicly on the matter.

The pay for women's officials increased but not nearly at the same rate as they make in conference play. Unlike professional sports leagues, college officials are independent contractors.