NCAA Opens Bidding Process For Div. I Women’s Hoops Tourney For 2027-31
Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 06:59PM By Barry Janoff
February 22, 2022: The NCAA said that the formal process has started for bidding to host the Women's Final Four from 2027-2031.
"We're excited to begin what we expect to be a competitive bid process," Nina King, vp and director of athletics at Duke and chair for the Div. I Women's Basketball Committee, said via the NCAA.
"The Women's Final Four continues to be one of America's top sporting events, and we expect great interest from hosting communities."
Bid specifications are now available at ncaa.org/bids to prospective Women's Final Four hosts.
Among other specifications, venues must hold at least 17,000 fans.
The NCAA said it plans to name the next round of Women's Final Four cities from 2027-31 in November.
The women’s Tournament expands this year from 64 to 68 teams.
The 2022 Women's Final Four will be played in Minneapolis (Target Center).
That will be followed in 2023 Dallas (American Airlines Center), 2024 Cleveland (Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse) 2025 Tampa Amalie Arena) and 2026 Phoenix (Footprint Center).
The 2022-2026 bids were awarded in October 2020.
The NCAA said prospective bid cities have until March 11 to submit a declaration of intent to bid.
They must submit a “draft budget, summary of hotel availability and rates, and adherence and exceptions to the competition venue agreement by April 15.
“When evaluating prospective hosts, the committee will review each city's competition venue, transportation and lodging, and the region's overall commitment to the event.”
The timeline includes the NCAA women's basketball staff meeting with representatives of each city's host committee in late April and early May.
The Women's Basketball Committee will unveil the finalists in May.
Completed bids are then due in late June
The NCAA said the committee and staff will review each bid before making site visits to each finalist city in late summer.
Representatives from each finalist city will make in-person presentations to the committee in late October/early November.
The Div. I Women's Basketball Committee then will make recommendations to the Div. I Women's Basketball Oversight Committee, followed by the announcement of the winning bids in November.
"The Women's Final Four continues to be one of America's top sporting events, and we expect great interest from hosting communities."
It was revealed last week that the Div. I Women's and Men's Basketball Committees would continue to conduct separate Women's and Men's Final Fours in the next round of site selections for both events.
The NCAA said the combined Final Four was “one of several recommendations from an external review of gender equity issues in connection with NCAA championships, including issues that were noted during the 2021 Division I Women's Basketball Championship.”
After what it described as several months of exploration, the NCAA said a proposal to hold the Div. I Men's and Women's Final Four on the same weekend in the same city would not happen until at least 2032, which would follow the next bidding process for Final Four host cities from 2027-2031.
"Before additional modifications are made, it is important to see the effect of an expanded bracket, the use of March Madness branding and increased support from corporate partners,' Nina King said via the NCAA.
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