NCAA In Talks With Indianapolis To Host March Madness

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The NCAA is in talks with Indianapolis to have the city and the state of Indiana host the entire March Madness tournament.

It was announced on Monday that the NCAA plans to hold its men’s college basketball tournament in one geographic location to mitigate the risks of COVID-19.

The 2021 Final Four is scheduled to be held in Indianapolis.

Back in August, the NCAA officially sought to trademark the phrase, “Battle in the Bubble.” NCAA President Mark Emmert said earlier this year that holding NCAA winter and spring championships are the “highest-priority” for his governing body.

The Chair of the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart released the following statement on Monday.

“My committee colleagues and I did not come lightly to the difficult decision to relocate the preliminary rounds of the 2021 tournament, as we understand the disappointment 13 communities will feel to miss out on being part of March Madness next year,” the statement read. “With the University of Kentucky slated to host first and second round games in March, this is something that directly impacts our school and community, so we certainly share their regret. The committee and staff deeply appreciate the efforts of all the host institutions and conferences, and we look forward to bringing the tournament back to the impacted sites in future years.”

NCAA relocating 2021 Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Sites: https://t.co/ietxNuODHi pic.twitter.com/P0uTXq2O1j

— Inside the NCAA (@InsidetheNCAA) November 16, 2020

The 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. Utah State automatically qualified for March Madness after winning the Mountain West Conference Tournament. BYU was in contention to get into the Big Dance.