The NCAA announced Thursday that Indianapolis will host every major 2026 men’s college basketball tournament.
The men’s Final Four, DII, and DIII championships, as well as the NIT semifinals and finals, will all be held over a five-day span throughout Indianapolis.
The NCAA Men’s Final Four social media team took to Twitter Thursday morning to announce the news, using the slogan “ALL IN INDY.”
The Final Four will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, on April 4 and April 6. It will be the ninth Final Four held in Indianapolis and the first time since 2021 when the Baylor Bears defeated Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs to win their first-ever NCAA tournament title.
Indianapolis currently boasts the second-highest total number of men’s college basketball championship games hosted behind Kansas City, MO (10).
The Division II and III championship games are slated for Gainbridge Fieldhouse, home of the Indiana Pacers and Fever, on April 5. The NIT semifinals will be held at Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse on April 2. The location of the NIT championship game on April 5 has yet to be announced.
Indianapolis Could Pull Record Attendance Rates in 2026
A whole lotta hoops is coming to Indianapolis in 2026! 🏀
In addition to hosting the #MFinalFour in 2026, Indianapolis will also host the @NCAADII and @NCAADIII championship games and the @NITMBB.
➡️ https://t.co/WDk9i2FVgS pic.twitter.com/N4OAh2ZMPb
— NCAA Men's Final Four (@MFinalFour) July 11, 2024
The NCAA expects higher attendance rates for the NIT, DII, and DIII championship games by hosting every major tournament in a single city. NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt predicts the city takeover will be an absolute hit.
This will be a tremendous celebration of men’s college basketball across all three divisions in Indy… When we did this in 2013, we had nearly 8,000 fans watching the Division II and III championship games, and the final two nights of this year’s NIT at Hinkle Fieldhouse featured sold-out crowds of more than 9,000 fans. It will be an awesome opportunity for student-athletes at the participating schools, as well as a showcase for the legendary college basketball fans in Indiana.
Indianapolis is looking forward to more than just the 2026 Final Four, as it was revealed in 2022 that the city would host the 2028 women’s Final Four and the 2029 men’s Final Four. 2028 will mark just the fourth time in women’s college basketball history that the Final Four will be held in Indianapolis and the first time since 2016.
Indianapolis has become sporting event hot-spot in U.S.
https://gty.im/2006240280
In March Sports Business Journal ranked Indianapolis as the No. 5 best city in the United States for event hosting. The city annually hosts major events in the sports landscape like the Indianapolis 500, Big Ten Football Championship Game, and the IndyCar GMR Grand Prix.
The city was also the recent home of the NBA All-Star weekend in February, hosting the top basketball talents around the NBA.
Sports Business Journal expressed that as Indianapolis continues to cement its status as a premier destination for conventions and events. Developments around the Indiana Convention Center are shaping a vibrant future.
The Indiana Convention Center is undergoing its seventh expansion, and an adjacent 800-room Signia by Hilton is underway that will be connected via skybridge to the venue. There are 1,300 new hotel rooms coming online by the end of 2026, including the InterContinental Hotel and Aloft by Marriott, scheduled to open this spring.
It’s safe to say the city of Indiana is well prepared for the 2026 basketball extravaganza. And maybe the hometown team Indiana State, which drew a sold-out crowd in the 2024 NIT Championship game in Indianapolis, will return for redemption in 2026.
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