2011 NCAA Women's Basketball

For Immediate Release: October 29, 2009

NCAA Chooses Wichita for Basketball Tournament

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced today that Wichita was selected to host first/second round games of the 2011 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. The games will be played March 19-22, 2011 at INTRUST Bank Arena.

Wichita State University, SMG Wichita and the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission partnered on the bid.

“We are ecstatic to receive this news. This is an opportunity for our community to show the NCAA we can support a high profile event,” said Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission President/CEO, Bob Hanson. “I thank Wichita State and SMG Wichita for their cooperative efforts on this project.”

INTRUST Bank Arena General Manager, Chris Presson, greeted the news with pride and excitement. “We are more than pleased to have received this recognition of Wichita and the INTRUST Bank Arena as worthy venues for this level of NCAA events. I’m sure the community will welcome this news with the same level of excitement as what we are experiencing.”

INTRUST Bank Arena is a modern, state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue, located in the heart of downtown Wichita, opening in January 2010.

The following first- and second-round sites will host games either Saturday, March 19, and Monday, March 21 or Sunday, March 20 and Tuesday, March 22, 2011 (dates to be determined in June, 2010): Albuquerque, New Mexico; Auburn, Alabama; Charlottesville, Virginia; Cincinnati, Ohio; College Park, Maryland;
Columbus, Ohio; Durham, North Carolina; Knoxville, Tennessee; Salt Lake City, Utah; Spokane, Washington; Shreveport, Louisiana; Stanford, California; Storrs, Connecticut; University Park, Pennsylvania; Waco, Texas; and Wichita, Kansas.
The four selected regional sites are Dayton, Ohio; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Dallas, Texas; and Spokane, Washington.

“The committee was pleased with the level of interest in our championship that we found from cities, institutions and conferences across the country,” said Jane Meyer, senior associate director of athletics at the University of Iowa and chair of the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee. “Of the 20 preliminary sites for 2011, we have 11 different conferences represented, with Wichita and Shreveport hosting for the first time.”