Upcoming NCAA Championship Event Locations Announced
The NCAA released info on the location for all the championship events between 2014 and 2018 today, see it here, largest amongst these was the Frozen Four location for 2015-2018 and the regionals for 2015 and 2016.
Regionals
Year | East | Northeast | Midwest | West |
2015 | Providence | Manchester, NH | South Bend | Fargo |
2016 | Albany | Worcester | Cinncinati | St. Paul |
Frozen Four
Year | Location | Host |
2015 | Boston | Hockey East |
2016 | Tampa | University of Wisconsin (????) |
2017 | Chicago | Notre Dame |
2018 | St. Paul | University of Minnesota |
2017 will be the first time that the Frozen Four has ever been in Chicago while 2016 will be the second time the event has taken place in Tampa.
December 11th, 2013 at 1:42 PM ^
thanks for posting! And what wealthy Wisco alum lives in Tampa?
December 11th, 2013 at 5:56 PM ^
excited for some college hockey in chicago
December 11th, 2013 at 1:45 PM ^
For the most part the regionals are in areas with stronger hockey interest. I love the Frozen Four picks.
December 11th, 2013 at 1:50 PM ^
I'll say it again: The NCAA hockey tournament will continue to suffer as long as they insist on placing regionals in neutral-site locations that both never sell out and are made as sanitary and characterless as possible.
And Tampa as a FF site? College hockey is not a southern sport. And it never will be. Put the game where your fans (and schools) are.
December 11th, 2013 at 1:58 PM ^
If the NCAA wants to really reward the #1 seeds, they would host all the regionals. Even if it's someone like Quinnipiac.
God bless Cincinnati (I live here), but even if that regional got the best case scenario draw (Miami, OSU, Notre Dame and Michigan), it still wouldn't match the atmosphere of a regional hosted by the best of those 4 teams. And Lord knows the actual regional draw will be nothing like that best case scenario.
December 11th, 2013 at 2:01 PM ^
Tampa Bay got the Frozen Four and the National Championship game two years ago and it was a huge success. They had over 18,000 in attendance for all three games, in a 19,000 seat arena.
Union vs Ferris State drew 18,600. That's impressive.
December 11th, 2013 at 2:08 PM ^
The Frozen Four is a different animal. It's going to sell out every year, based on the fact that there are thousands of diheard fans who buy tickets months ahead of time, no matter if their team is playing or not.
That doesn't change the fact that it should be in a geographical location where the game is actually played, to benefit the fans of the teams who do make it who want to travel on a moment's notice.
December 11th, 2013 at 1:58 PM ^
Does Michigan even bother submitting Yost for regionals anymore? Is there any good reason for Yost to not be able to host it as long as places like South Bend and Fargo get regionals? Outside of Michigan always winning Yost regionals, of course.
December 11th, 2013 at 2:15 PM ^
They were still putting bids in every year as recently as five years ago, and I assume that never changed. Just a formality now, because it doesn't seem to be happening any time soon.
The second to last wave of renovations put in the required number of lockerrooms to host a regional, and now it seems the previous threshold for capacity is off the table (and, apparently, the campus site rule, now that ND gets a pass). So Yost does fit the bill on all fronts.
Yet I heard firsthand from a former Associate AD that the NCAA wasn't happy with the language situation, and opposing teams bitched like crazy that Michigan got an unfair advantage by hosting at Yost.
The NCAA seems to have this notion that to have a "fair" tournament, the game must be played in arenas far away from the schools' fans, in large arenas that are seldom full, with every trace of arena character scrubbed away by the NCAA staff when they arrive (visible team banners, etc.). Ticket prices are also normally at an absurdly high price point, further driving down attendance and discouraging casual fans and locals from coming. Not to mention the NCAA's inane micromanagement of the game atmosphere.
Basically, this entire thing is bullshit.
December 11th, 2013 at 2:14 PM ^
I believe it was 2001-2002. Michigan went into the Tournament as a 4 seed, the regional was at Yost and Michigan won it.
2002-2003 we were a 3 seed and Yost had the regional, we won it again. Home sites haven't hosted since.
December 11th, 2013 at 2:14 PM ^
That's not true (and the tournament you're thinking of was 2003). There were campus/home arena sites in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009.
December 11th, 2013 at 2:18 PM ^
We have hosted the CCHA tournament many times, but not an NCAA tournament game.
December 11th, 2013 at 2:19 PM ^
You said "home sites haven't hosted since" the last Yost regional. That isn't true.
December 11th, 2013 at 2:20 PM ^
Home sites have hosted since, I'm pretty sure I remember REA and Mariucci getting some, and Colorado College too. I always thought the official strike against Yost was capacity, which is why I specifically mentioned South Bend getting to host a regional. Their capacity is less than Yost.
December 11th, 2013 at 2:19 PM ^
Well, CFIA and Scheel's Arena are both way nicer than Yost. Also, Fargo is a neutral site.
December 11th, 2013 at 2:21 PM ^
Crap, I got Fargo and Grand Forks switched. But REA has hosted since the last Yost one. And is much nicer than Yost as well.
December 11th, 2013 at 2:24 PM ^
Fargo gets a huge edge because the Ralph isn't just off the table, it's not even in the same room. Which is a shame, because aside from the Ralphness of the place that so has the NCAA's ire, it's just about the nicest facility I've ever seen in just about any sport. The atmosphere is off the charts, too.
December 11th, 2013 at 2:27 PM ^
A lot of people think Providence could be a great Frozen Four host, but the Dunkin' Donuts Center doesn't meet the NCAA minimum seating requirement.
December 11th, 2013 at 4:40 PM ^
Although Michigan played great, STL was pretty empty a few years ago.
Fond memories of watching Michigan win a National Championship in Cincy.
Glad to see Chicago on the list.
December 11th, 2013 at 6:05 PM ^
Men's and Women's Lacrosse Final Four to Philadelphia in 2015 and 2016. Chances are very, very low that either the UM Men or Women will be there, but there is some chatter about Chicago hosting the Final Four in the near future.
December 11th, 2013 at 6:10 PM ^
but its a little annoying to see them get some event just about every year while there's almost nothing in the Michigan-Ohio-Indiana area. Believe it or not, Michigan has more D1 hockey teams than Minnesota has (plus ND and BGSU are right over the border). It'd be nice if the state could host something a bit more often
December 12th, 2013 at 9:56 AM ^
For me, nothing will compare to the 2002 regional at Yost. Atmosphere was electric. When Michigan overcame a third period deficit against Denver to win the regional in 2002, the building was shaking. It has been well-documented on this site in years past, but that was an incredible environment for a sporting event. Still ranks ahead of almost every football game I've attended since I started going in the mid-80's, and I haven't missed any important ones.