The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced today that the University of Minnesota will host four collegiate championship events within the 2018-2022 championship bid cycle.
In the next five years, the University of Minnesota, Sports Minneapolis and Visit St. Paul will partner with US Bank Stadium, Target Center and Xcel Energy Center to hold nine NCAA championships in the Twin Cities. In addition to the four bids awarded today, Minnesota is also hosting the 2018 men’s and women’s Frozen Four, a 2018 women’s gymnastics regional, and 2018 men’s swimming & diving NCAA Championships. The Gophers will also serve as the host institution for the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four for the fifth time in school history and the first since 2001.
Target Center will feature NCAA events for men’s basketball and volleyball during this span. A Minneapolis men’s basketball regional will be held in 2021. The regional marks the 13th NCAA men’s basketball event in school history, and the fifth time the Gophers will be hosting Sweet 16 and Elite Eight competition. The Division I volleyball championships will come to Minneapolis in 2018, the first time the event has ever come to Target Center and just the second time it’s been held in the Twin Cities. Minnesota hosted the 1988 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championships at Williams Arena. US Bank Stadium will become the largest venue to ever host NCAA wrestling when the event comes to Minnesota in 2020. US Bank Stadium will also be the first non-arena venue to host the national wrestling tournament. The first and only other time Minnesota hosted the NCAA wrestling championship came back in 1996 at Target Center. The men’s gymnastics championship was also awarded to Minnesota in 2021. This will be the third time in school history Minnesota hosts the men’s gymnastics championship, the first since 2009.University of Minnesota NCAA Championship Events
2018 – Men’s Swimming and Diving, Jean K. Freeman Aquatics Center (March)
2018 – Women’s Ice Hockey Frozen Four, Ridder Arena (March)
2018 – Men’s Ice Hockey Frozen Four, Xcel Energy Center (April)
2018 – Women’s Gymnastics Regional, Sports Pavilion (April)
2019 – Men’s Basketball Final Four, U.S. Bank Stadium (April)
2018 – Women’s Volleyball Championship, Target Center ^ (December)
2020 – Wrestling Championship, US Bank Stadium ^ (March)
2021 – Men’s Basketball Regional, Target Center ^ (March)
2021 – Men’s Gymnastics Championship, Sports Pavilion ^ (April)