INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee has chosen five future Women’s Final Four sites for the years 2012-2016.
The Women’s Final Four sites are:
2012 – Denver. Mountain West Conference, host.
2013 – New Orleans. University of New Orleans, host.
2014 – Nashville. Ohio Valley Conference, host.
2015 – Tampa Bay. University of South Florida, host.
2016 – Indianapolis. Butler University, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and Horizon League, hosts.
“The women’s basketball committee invested a tremendous amount of time and effort in the Women’s Final Four site selection process,” said Jacki Silar, chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and associate director of athletics at Duke University. “It was a very difficult and important decision and it was the committee’s charge to determine which of the cities would best serve as future host sites for the pinnacle of women’s basketball – the Women’s Final Four.”
After submitting an intent-to-bid form last November, representatives of 12 cities attended a pre-bid seminar in January, and they met with NCAA staff for individual planning and progress updates in April and again in June. After selecting eight finalist cities in August, women’s basketball committee members made site visits to each finalist city in September and October 2008. Following the site visits to each prospective city, representatives of the bid committee made final presentations to the committee on Nov. 11-12 in Indianapolis.
“The committee appreciated the work and effort of each of the cities that participated in this bid selection process,” Silar said. “Committee members evaluated each prospective host city based on many criteria, weighing each element’s importance and what is critical to successfully host a Women’s Final Four.”
When evaluating prospective host cities, the committee reviewed each city’s competition venue, convention center, hotel community, transportation plans, legacy programs and financial commitment, as well as the community’s and prospective host institution/conference’s overall commitment to the event.
“This is an exciting time for the game of collegiate women’s basketball and this was evident by the number and quality of cities that participated in the bid process as prospective 2012-16 Women’s Final Four hosts,” said NCAA President Myles Brand. “Congratulations to the five cities selected as these cities represent the future for this great event. In 2016, the NCAA will celebrate the 35th anniversary season of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. With cities such as Denver, New Orleans, Nashville, Tampa Bay and Indianapolis serving as future hosts, we believe the Women’s Final Four will continue its growth as a marquee event and continue to be the ultimate experience for our student-athletes.”
The cities selected represent a blend of cities with past Women’s Final Four hosting experience in Indianapolis (2005), New Orleans (1991, 2004) and Tampa Bay (2008), while Denver and Nashville will be hosting the event for the first time.
“We would like to express our appreciation to the prospective host cities and bid committees that participated in the bid process for the 2012-16 Women’s Final Four,” said NCAA Executive Vice President Tom Jernstedt. “The time, effort and enthusiasm in each of their bids were noteworthy and because of this kind of commitment and engagement, the Women’s Final Four will continue to be the outstanding ’celebration’ of women’s basketball that it has become. This was a difficult decision by the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, and I applaud their efforts in determining the five cities that will serve as the future host cities for the pinnacle event in women’s basketball.”
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.
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