NCAA Selects Host Sites for Championships in 2026-28

This year, the NCAA made a significant move by selecting host sites for a variety of championships across the country. The organization announced on October 2, 2024, that it chose over 240 host sites for preliminary and final rounds of its championships, covering all three divisions: I, II, and III. This site selection process, which took place simultaneously for the first time in history, is set for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons.

In total, the NCAA received more than 1,200 bids from member schools, conferences, cities, and sports commissions hailing from 47 states and Washington, D.C. This shows a strong desire among various locations to host events for 87 out of 90 championships. State sports committees made the site selections, and these picks received final approval from the divisional competition oversight and championships committees.

Among the selected sites, Florida stood out by landing the most championships with a total of 22. Following closely are Pennsylvania and Texas, both securing 20 sites. California and North Carolina are also in the mix, with 17 respective events. It’s noteworthy that Division I baseball, Division I football, and Division I softball were not included in this round due to existing contracts for high-profile tournaments like the Men’s College World Series in Omaha and the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

As for the NCAA men’s water polo, teams from Division I and Division II face off during the season for a chance to compete in the National Collegiate Finals. The Tritons from UC San Diego have a historical presence in this sport, having played in the 2014 national championship against formidable opponents such as Brown, Stanford, UCLA, and USC.

Overall, this revamped site selection process demonstrates the NCAA’s efforts to engage a broader range of communities and encourage more participation in hosting prestigious sporting events.