NCAA Bid Interest at All-Time High

As day turned to night when the latest championship bids were due in the NCAA portal, Ryan Tressel started getting some messages as he dropped his daughter off at dance lessons: The portal was in trouble.

After checking with a colleague and the NCAA IT department, it became clear that there was an issue as destinations, trying to make deadline, were calling and letting Tressel know that their bids were not going through because the portal had gone down.

“It was pretty interesting,” laughed Tressel, the director for championships and alliances at the NCAA.

The drama of February having washed away, the work is now ongoing with a targeted date of October 2 for when the NCAA will announce hosts for the 2026–2027 and 2027–2028 NCAA championship seasons. With every national championship across three divisions up for bid except two — the College World Series for Division I baseball and softball — Tressel said there were 293 unique bidders from 47 states and the District of Columbia.

“Even though we were only a two-year cycle this time, we had almost as many bids as before,” said Tressel, noting that the previous cycle was for four years. “With only half the amount of opportunities, unfortunately some people may be disappointed. But with the next cycle coming up so fast, they can get involved in that and stay excited.”

The next bid cycle, already? Yes, which is why Tressel was giving information and receiving feedback in Portland last week at the annual Sports ETA Symposium. The current cycle was shortened to two years because “with a new president (in Charlie Baker) and new administration coming it, we didn’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves.”

The next bid cycle, then, will be either for a two- or three-year span, a three-year span being the current favorite. The timing for the next cycle, no matter the length, is likely to start in the summer of 2025 (and yes, the portal will be revamped).

Hotels Called Out

As Tressel sought feedback in Portland, the biggest challenge that attendees said with the bid process was the hotel piece. Depending on the size of the market, some properties did not want to commit room blocks two years out while for other larger destinations, finding available room blocks was an issue. One idea floated is the chance to announce finalists for certain events ahead of time so that hotels in those locations know to set aside blocks before the winning host is announced.

Given the surge of interest in this year’s fall and winter championships on the women’s side, Tressel said more cities are interested in bidding to host women’s events. “A lot of the championships have gotten a lot more exposure and certain sports have seen a big uptick in bidding.”

One of the most high-profile women’s college championships is basketball, which for the second tournament in a row at the Division I level had 16 early round sites announced on Selection Sunday, where two regionals hosted eight teams apiece. Lynn Holzman, NCAA vice president of women’s basketball, told ESPN after this year’s tournament that the women’s basketball committee may revisit its decision to hold the first two rounds of the tournament at campus sites with two regional sites on the second weekend.

The potential of having the first two rounds at pre-scheduled sites, akin to men’s basketball, would allow the women’s tournament to avoid instances such as what happened this year in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga was given a top-four women’s seed and the right to host early round play on the same weekend it was already hosting a major USA Volleyball regional event and NCAA Men’s Division I early round action. A lack of available hotel space forced multiple teams to stay in Couer D’Alene, Idaho, where members of the Utah women’s basketball team were harassed by men flying Confederate flags in their truck and yelling racist slurs.

“They’re still trying to figure that out,” Tressel said for women’s basketball. “When they do that, if it works within the cycle we have, great. If it doesn’t work within the cycle, they’ll be able to do a side bid situation.”