“Like any tradition,” she said, “there wasn’t really a rational reason for it.”

Since Charles Wordsworth, representing Oxford, and Charles Merivale, of Cambridge, first challenged each other in 1829, the Boat Race has been all about the men. For generations — interrupted only by the war years — English high society has lined the banks of the Thames to watch the scions of the great, the good and the privileged race head-to-head over nearly seven kilometers (about 4.2 miles). With help from live television coverage by the BBC, which first broadcast the race in 1938, it is a national institution, watched by millions on TV and by hundreds of thousands along the towpath. This year marks the 160th contest between the universities.

Image Instead of a wooden plaque, the winner of the Women's Boat Race will be awarded a silver chalice, right, to match the men's trophy. Credit... Luke Macgregor/Reuters

The women have a shorter — and separate — history, and so naturally, it took a woman to turn convention on its head. The changes were led by Helena Morrissey, the chief executive of Newton Investment Management and a mother of nine. Morrissey asked what it would take to move the women’s race to the championship course on the Tideway after her company’s successful debut sponsorship of the 2011 women’s race: Newton’s brand appeared on the front page of national newspapers when Natalie Redgrave, daughter of the five-time Olympic gold medalist Steve Redgrave, competed as part of the winning Oxford crew.

“We didn’t just want a name on a shirt; we wanted to do something meaningful,” Morrissey said. “Someone had to take the plunge.”

For the female rowers, Newton’s sponsorship was transformational. They had been the poorer relative at Oxford and at Cambridge, with no facilities, no full-time coach and no financing. It cost each crew member more than 2,000 pounds a year, or about $3,300, just to compete for their university. Second-class status was a financial barrier to talent, too; Anna Watkins, who won a gold medal in the double sculls at the 2012 London Games, could not afford to row for Cambridge, so she joined a local club instead.

The opportunity for change came when Xchanging, an outsourcing company, was replaced as the title sponsor of the men’s race by BNY Mellon, Newton’s parent company, which arrived in 2012 with a sizable sponsorship and a mandate for gender equity.