NCAA Awards Host Sites for 82 Championships

The NCAA has announced 523 sites as regional or final hosts for 82 championships covering the 2014–2018 seasons, the largest collection of host-site announcements in the history of the association.

The NCAA received 1,984 bids for the events, which cover all but seven of the championships the association organizes. Winning sites were selected by the respective sport committees, made up of coaches and administrators from NCAA member schools and conferences, and approved by the appropriate divisional championships cabinets or committees.

The process marked a significant shift from past selections, which varied by sport. The new concentrated approach was designed to give the NCAA more time to evaluate and plan for each event.

“The competitiveness of the bids made it extremely difficult for the sport committees to select sites as there just weren’t spots for all of the great bids we received,” said Mark Lewis, the NCAA’s executive vice-president of championships and alliances. “Ultimately the sites that were selected will provide our student-athletes, coaches and fans the best experience possible.”

Championships were awarded to cities in 39 states. Florida received the most selections with 42 sites, while Pennsylvania had 34 selections and Texas had 30. California and North Carolina received the next highest amount with 29 each.

Among the highlights of the host selections:

• The Division I wrestling championships will head to Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2016. It will be the first finals site in MSG since the Men’s Final Four in 1950.

• The Men’s Frozen Four will be staged at the United Center in Chicago in 2017, the first time that event has been held at the home of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks.

• Divisions I and III women’s lacrosse join the Men’s Lacrosse Championships in Philadelphia at PPL Park and Lincoln Financial Field respectively in 2015 and 2016, creating a new event experience with five of the six championships in the same city on the same weekend.

• The Divisions I, II, III Field Hockey Championship will be held at a joint site in Louisville in 2017, only the second time in the history of the championships that they will all be decided in the same city.

• The Division III Football Championship Game, the Stagg Bowl, will be in Salem, Virginia for four more years (2014–2017), extending the run at Salem Stadium to 25 years.

• Hayward Field and the University of Oregon will host the Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships from 2015 through 2021, the only championship to be awarded beyond 2018.

Seven championships were not included in the process due to preexisting site arrangements: Division I baseball, Division I men’s basketball, Division I football, Division I men’s and women’s golf, Division I softball and Division III women’s ice hockey.

For the complete list of 523 championship event sites selected, click here.