The University of Dayton has hosted the First Four of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament at UD Arena since 2001.
The NCAA announced July 9 that, with the expansion of the tournament field from 68 to 76 teams, hosting rights for the opening round of the 2027 and 2028 tournaments have been awarded to Wichita, Kansas.
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Wichita and Dayton both will host three games each day on the Tuesday and Wednesday after Selection Sunday.
Dayton will continue to host NCAA Tournament opening-round games.
Wichita was selected from several cities that expressed interest in hosting the expanded opening round.
“We were pleased but not surprised by the number of cities from around the country that very much wanted March Madness to begin in their market,” said Keith Gill, the commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference and the chair of the Division I men’s basketball committee, in a release. “Like Dayton, Wichita is a basketball-crazed community that we expect will embrace the reimagined start of the tournament. Having a city in Middle America will be advantageous for getting teams from various points around the country, many of which won’t be known until Selection Sunday, to the opening round and subsequently first-round sites.”
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The only year Dayton hasn’t hosted the First Four was 2021, when it was held at Indiana University and Purdue University because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2026, the Miami University RedHawks became the first-ever Mid-American Conference (MAC) team to play in the First Four.
University of Dayton Arena has hosted the NCAA Tournament First Four since 2001.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What a larger NCAA Tournament field means for Dayton, new host
