On Monday, the college sports authority announced that the college basketball championship series will be played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, with Arizona State University Sun Devils as the college host team.
The national semifinals are set for Saturday, April 6, 2024, and the national championship game will tip off on Monday, April 8.
Phoenix won a competitive bid process that included six other finalists to host the 2023-2026 Men's Final Fours, according to the Phoenix Local Organizing Committee. The Valley hosted its first Final Four in 2017.
"This is a fantastic day for Arizona. We are thrilled to be selected to host another Final Four," PLOC co-chair Debbie Johnson said. "Once again, this has been a true community effort. I am grateful to everyone across the state who supported our successful bid."
Phoenix also is hosting the 2023 Super Bowl, which means the two big events will be only 14 months apart. The 2015 Super Bowl was played in Glendale but the area had 26 months to prepare for the Final Four.The 2024 #FinalFour will be played in Phoenix!
— NCAA Final Four (@FinalFour) July 16, 2018
: University of Phoenix Stadium
Final Four History (1): 2017
Host: @TheSunDevils pic.twitter.com/g8zrJz9gNi
North Carolina won the 2017 Final Four, defeating Gonzaga in the championship game. That year, the tournament weekend coincided with the opening of the baseball season for the Diamondbacks, bringing thousands of people to downtown Phoenix.
No doubt tournament officials were impressed with these numbers produced here that weekend:
• 153,780. Total attendance for the championship and semifinal games. That made it the second most attended final two sessions in NCAA history.
• 135,000. Fans who attended March Madness Music Festival. Consider that for much of the event, the entrances were closed for overcrowding and fans flocked to see acts as diverse as Aerosmith, the Chainsmokers, Keith Urban, and Blink-182.
• 3,075. Kids bouncing their way down the streets in the Final Four Dribble. Imagine – thousands of bouncing kids!
• 9.6 million. Live streams during the Final Four. Most ever. It’s a digital world, after all.
• 22,998,000. Average number of viewers who tuned in for the North Carolina-Gonzaga final.
• 29,736. Hours volunteered.
• 50,803. Fans who went to the Final Four Fan Fest.
The NCAA also named Houston as the host of the 2023 tournament, San Antonio for the year following the championship is decided in Phoenix, and Indianapolis in 2026.
