With the Superbowl behind us now another major sports event is coming up fast. The NCAA Men’s (and Women’s) college basketball tournament will kick off with the First Four on March 15th in Dayton, Ohio. A little more on that in a bit.
Popularly referred to as March Madness, dozens of college teams from around the country will be crisscrossing on buses and planes to locations around the country to play one another in hopes of moving onto the next host city.
Where will my college be playing so I can make travel plans?
So where in the world will your Alma Mater be playing in this year’s NCAA D1 basketball tournament? Well, it’s tough to make those specific March Madness predictions because as of the publication date, we don’t even know which teams will be chosen. The competing programs won’t be seeded and placed into their “regions” until Selection Sunday. Selection Sunday will happen on March 13th this year.
There is some good news; we do know the host cities for this year’s March Madness tournament and the dates in which they’re scheduled to play.
NCAA Tournament Locations for 2022
Though you may not be able to buy plane tickets and book hotels just yet, you can start to get excited about potentially visiting Portland, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Chicago and hopefully for the Final Four in New Orleans.
| CITY | STATE | ARENA | ROUND | DATE | CITY/SITE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dayton | Ohio | UD Arena | First Four | March 15 & 16 | |
| Buffalo | New York | KeyBank Center | First/Second | March 17 &19 | |
| Indianapolis | Indiana | Gainbridge Fieldhouse | First/Second | March 17 &19 | |
| Fort Worth | Texas | Dickies Arena | First/Second | March 17 & 19 | |
| Portland | Oregon | Moda Center | First/Second | March 17 & 19 | |
| Greenville | South Carolina | Bon Secours Wellness Arena | First/Second | March 18 & 20 | |
| Milwaukee | Wisconsin | Fiserv Forum | First/Second | March 18 & 20 | |
| Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | PPG Paints Arena | First/Second | March 18 & 20 | |
| San Diego | California | Viejas Arena | First/Second | March 18 & 20 | |
| San Antonio | Texas | AT&T Center | Sweet 16/Elite Eight | March 24 & 26 | |
| San Francisco | California | Chase Center | Sweet 16/Elite Eight | March 24 & 26 | |
| Chicago Illinois | United Center | Sweet 16/Elite Eight | March 25 & 27 | ||
| Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | Wells Fargo Center | Sweet 16/Elite Eight | March 25 & 27 | |
| New Orleans | Caesars Superdome | Final Four | April 2 & 4 |
Except for 2021, the First Four has been played in Dayton, Ohio at the University of Dayton. The one exception was in the 2021 March Madness tournament where we saw the games being played in Indiana. Two games were played at the Mackey Arena, the home of Purdue University while the other two games in the First Four were played at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on the homecourt of Indiana University Bloomington. Here’s a little explainer of The First Four.
So if you had a choice which cities get you the most excited to visit? For me, it’s New Orleans, Milwaukee and San Francisco. That said, you can’t beat the weather in San Diego.
