March Madness men’s basketball is coming back to Sacramento, NCAA says. Here are the details
The NCAA on Wednesday announced that Golden 1 Center will host first- and second-round games in the NCAA men’s Division I college basketball championships in March 2027.
Golden 1 Center previously hosted NCAA Tournament games in 2017 and 2023. It had also been set to host the first two rounds in March 2020, but those games — and the tournament as a whole — were among the first major U.S. sporting events to be canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2023 tournament games brought more than $9.4 million into the local economy with more than 11,000 hotel room nights booked in the region.
The NCAA previously announced that Sacramento will host regional games in the NCAA women’s Division I college basketball championships in 2026.
The 2023 men’s tournament brought Arizona, Boise State, Missouri, Northwestern, Princeton, UCLA, UNC Asheville and Utah State to Sacramento. Princeton, a No. 15 seed, upset No. 2 Arizona and No. 7 Missouri to reach the Sweet 16. No. 2 UCLA defeated UNC Asheville and Northwestern to secure the other Sweet 16 bid.
Sacramento State and Visit Sacramento are partnering as the host entities. The university also announced Wednesday that it will host the NCAA Division I Cross Country West Regional in 2026; the 2025 edition will also be held in Sacramento, as previously announced. Both regionals will be held at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex.
“We are thrilled to have NCAA postseason events return to Sacramento,” Sac State athletic director Mark Orr said in a statement. “The region has truly embraced the men’s basketball tournament and has created one of the best environments across the country. We look forward to working with Visit Sacramento and Golden1 Center to create another memorable experience in one of the best arenas in the nation.”
This story was originally published October 2, 2024 at 12:41 PM.
