By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Two years ago, LVSportsBiz.com reported college sports championships would be coming to Las Vegas thanks to new venues like T-Mobile Arena and legalized sports gambling going mainstream, even by the NCAA’s tastes.
And this morning, Las Vegas cashed in on the college sports frenzy. We saw this as early as August 2018.
The NCAA said T-Mobile Arena will host the Final Four of college hockey in 2026, while the impressive venue will also host college basketball regionals in 2023.
UNLV also hit the jackpot with the NCAA announcing these host sites:
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2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Regional – T-Mobile Arena
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2023 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Regional – Bear’s Best Las Vegas
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2023 National Collegiate Women’s Bowling Championship – South Point Hotel
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2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Regional – Spanish Trail Country Club
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2024 NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships – Boulder Creek Golf Club & The Legacy Golf Club
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2024 NCAA Division III Men’s & Women’s Soccer Championships – Peter Johann Memorial Field
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2025 NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships – Boulder Creek Golf Club
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2026 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships – Boulder Creek Golf Club
UNLV said that bidding for 86 of 90 NCAA championships began in August 2019 and more than 3,000 bid applications were ultimately submitted.
Each sport committee, per division, selected the host sites it believed would provide the ultimate experience for the respective student-athletes, resulting in more than 450 total championship event sites being awarded.
More than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships each year. The four championships not included in the process due to preexisting site arrangements are: Division I baseball, Division I football, Division I softball and Division III women’s ice hockey.
“We also look forward to our own UNLV student-athletes competing for national titles in our hometown,” said Desiree Reed-Francois, UNLV’s athletic director.
It was a perfect storm that worked out well for Las Vegas. The LVCVA, the public tourism agency in town, is trying to recruit more sports to the Las Vegas market. The NCAA no longer looks at legalized sports gambling as the boogeyman anymore. The market is rich in world-class sports venues like T-Mobile Arena and Allegiant Stadium.
It added up to a historic announcement by UNLV:
“NCAA Championships will return to Las Vegas for the first time since 1998 when both the Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Regionals were held at the Frank and Vicki Fertitta Tennis Complex on the UNLV campus. Previous NCAA Championships held in Las Vegas also include the 1996 and 1997 Division I Men’s Tennis Regionals and the 1991 Division I Women’s Basketball West Regional, which was held at the Thomas & Mack Center.
“In addition to the eight UNLV-hosted events announced, the 2026 Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship at T-Mobile Arena will be hosted by the University of North Dakota.”
NCAA’s basketball VP Dan Gavitt noted the announcements that western cities like Las Vegas, Seattle and San Francisco were receiving college sports site assignments was a new trend.
Gavitt noted Las Vegas was particularly strong in its transportation accessibility that included a solid airport and lots of hotel rooms. Don’t forget, Las Vegas was already hosting four NCAA basketball conference tournaments at three arena in town.
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