Mountain West Conference to Host 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship

Sept. 21, 2009

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -

The NCAA announced today that Pepsi Center in Denver has been awarded the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championships, First-/Second Rounds. The Mountain West Conference will serve as host for the event. Games will be played Thursday, March 17 and Saturday, March 19, 2011.

The 2011 tournament marks the third time in eight years the MWC will serve as host for an NCAA Men's Basketball Championship event in Denver. In addition, the league will work with Denver Sports to host the 2012 NCAA Women's Final Four at Pepsi Center.

"The tremendous success of the 2004 and 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Championships at Pepsi Center was a significant component to being awarded the 2011 event," said MWC commissioner Craig Thompson. "Both of the aforementioned events in Denver were sold out, which is a testament to the high level of excitement generated by one of the nation's premier events."

The Pepsi Center will be one of eight first-/second sites during the initial rounds of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championships. Each first-/second-round site will host eight teams, with two teams from each site advancing to four regional sites. The 2011 NCAA Final Four will be conducted April 2-4, at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Tickets for the first-/second rounds of the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Championships at the Pepsi Center are scheduled to go on sale March, 2010.

2011 NCAA DIVISION I MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
OPENING ROUND
Date	Site	City, State	Host
March 15	UD Arena	Dayton, Ohio	University of Dayton
FIRST/SECOND ROUNDS
Date	Site	City, State	Host
March 17 & 19	Pepsi Center	Denver, Colo.	Mountain West Conference
March 17 & 19	St. Pete Times Forum	Tampa, Fla.	University of South Florida
March 17 & 19	McKale Center	Tucson, Ariz.	University of Arizona
March 17 & 19	Verizon Center	Washington, D.C.	Georgetown University
March 18 & 20	Time Warner Cable Arena	Charlotte, N.C.	University of North Carolina-Charlotte
March 18 & 20	United Center	Chicago, Ill.	Big Ten Conference
March 18 & 20	Quicken Loans Arena	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland State University
March 18 & 20	BOK Center	Tulsa, Okla.	University of Tulsa
REGIONALS
Date	Site	City, State	Host
March 24 & 26	Honda Center	Anaheim, Calif.	Big West Conference
March 24 & 26	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans, La.	Tulane University
March 25 & 27	Prudential Center	Newark, N.J.	Seton Hall University
March 25 & 27	Alamodome	San Antonio, Texas	University of Texas-San Antonio
FINAL FOUR
Date	Site	City, State	Host
April 2 & 4	Reliant Stadium	Houston, Texas	University of Houston