South Carolina and Iowa are squaring off in the women's NCAA championship game Sunday in a matchup between two of the country's top teams.
Only one of the squads will get to experience its one shining moment. Soon enough, fans will see whether that belongs to Dawn Staley's undefeated Gamecock or Caitlin Clark's explosive but hard-nosed Hawkeyes.
Regardless, neither winner will be included in any montage featuring the March Madness special "One Shining Moment."
ESPN and ABC cap their coverage of the women's NCAA Tournament with a highlight montage, just like CBS does with its coverage of the men's tournament. The major difference? CBS uses "One Shining Moment" as its soundtrack, while the ESPN family of networks do not.
Here's what to know about "One Shining Moment" and its absence from women's March Madness.
MORE: What's next for Caitlin Clark after Iowa?
What is 'One Shining Moment?'
"One Shining Moment" is a song by David Barrett. It was written in March 1986 and became a cultural phenomenon after it was played at the end of the 1987 NCAA Tournament as the backing track for a highlight montage of the tournament.
Barrett's song took a circuitous route to become the NCAA Tournament anthem. After he wrote it, he reached out to a friend at Sports Illustrated, who sent the demo to CBS. The network liked it enough that they wanted to use it as part of their post-Super Bowl 21 highlight montage.
When the Super Bowl ran long, CBS asked Barrett if they could run the song at the end of March Madness instead. He obliged, and ever since, "One Shining Moment" has been associated with the men's NCAA Tournament.
MORE: South Carolina has chance to become latest NCAA team to go undefeated
Does NCAA women's basketball have 'One Shining Moment'?
The women's NCAA Tournament does not end with its own "One Shining Moment" montage. Highlight packages are shown as a sign-off from the tournament's coverage, but they don't contain the iconic March Madness anthem and don't always cover the tournament's duration.
That's why there have been increasing cries from women's basketball fans, teams and players to have a "One Shining Moment" montage. Following the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Matt Moore — a coach for Westminster College in Missouri — made one of his own to celebrate the event.
In 2021, players and teams posted highlights to X (formerly Twitter) with the hashtags #OurShiningMoment and #OurFairShot, as detailed by Sports Illustrated's Emma Baccellieri. Each hashtag highlighted the gender inequities in college basketball and pushed for the women's game to get better coverage.
Perhaps the massive success of the 2024 NCAA Tournament will encourage broadcasters to consider creating a "One Shining Moment" tradition henceforth. But at this point, there don't appear to be plans for ABC and ESPN to add that to its coverage — unless it's being worked upon and unveiled in secret.
MORE: SNL spoofs Kim Mulkey, highlights Caitlin Clark in cold open
One Shining Moment lyrics
Below are the full lyrics to "One Shining Moment."
The ball is tipped
And there you are
You're running for your life
You're a shooting star
And all the years
No one knows
Just how hard you worked
But now it shows
In one shining moment, it's all on the line
One shining moment, there frozen in timeBut time is short
And the road is long
In the blinking of an eye
Ah, that moment's gone
And when it's done
Win or lose
You always did your best
'Cause inside you knew
That one shining moment, you reached deep inside
One shining moment, you knew you were aliveFeel the beat of your heart
Feel the wind in your face
It's more than a contest
It's more than a raceAnd when it's done
Win or lose
You always did your best
'Cause inside you knewThat one shining moment, you reached for the sky
One shining moment, you knew
One shining moment, you were willing to try
One shining moment, you knewOne shining moment