NCAA Announces Women’s Final Four Locations

College Basketball

NCAA Announces Women’s Final Four Locations

On Monday, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) picked its four cities for Final Four hosting duties between 2021-’24. The list of cities also includes San Antonio, Texas (2021), Minneapolis, Minnesota (2022), Dallas, Texas (2023) and Cleveland, Ohio (2024). Already selected to host 2019 and 2020 also include Tampa Bay, Florida and New Orleans, Louisiana.

San Antonio (2021)

The Alamodome will be the hosting venue between Apr. 2-4, marking its third time. The Alamodome saw both the 2002 and 2010 Final Four event, with the Connecticut Huskies taking both championships. In 2002, the all-time attendance record for a women’s Final Four event was also set at just under 30 thousand.

Minneapolis (2022)

Between Apr. 1-3, the Target Center plans to host the 2022 Women’s Final Four event. It would be the city’s second time hosting the event, with the last coming over two decades ago in 1995. The city does play a historic role in the grand landscape of women’s collegiate basketball. It was the site of Connecticut women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma’s first national championship. Auriemma’s teams went on to win 10 more national championships since then, finishing a perfect 35-0 season in the Twin City.

Meet Minneapolis was the main catalyst in driving the NCAA to select Minneapolis. The organization’s track record is a solid one, also contributing to the city hosting events such as the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Championships, the 2021 Men’s Gymnastics Championships, and the 2021 NCAA Men’s Tournament Regional.

Dallas (2023)

The American Airlines Center, home to the Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars, will host the 2023 NCAA Women’s Final Four event. The dates are a bit earlier than in previous years, set for Mar. 31-Apr. 2. Dallas was actually a host to this same event not long ago, also seeing Mississippi State upset Connecticut in 2017. The Mississippi State victory also saw Connecticut’s 111-game winning streak officially end.

Cleveland (2024)

Ironically, the NCAA just left Columbus this past year and will now head back to Ohio. Ohio will have hosted this event four times by 2024, with Cincinnati also hosting the event in 1997. These are the latest scheduled dates, officially listed for Apr. 5-7. The Quicken Loans Arena will host the event, marking the city’s first hosting duties since 2007. Pat Summit led the Tennessee Lady Vols to a championship that year.

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Photo Credit: Kevin Brockway via Twitter