Louisville to Host 13 NCAA Championships

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) today announced that 13 of its national championships have been awarded to Louisville as host site during the next four years.

The NCAA championships assigned to Louisville are:

• 2014 Division II Fall Championships Festival, comprised of men’s and women’s cross country; men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and field hockey
• 2016 Division III men’s and women’s cross country
• 2017 Division I, II and III field hockey
• 2017 Division I men’s and women’s cross country

University of Louisville (Division I), Bellarmine University (Division II) and Spalding University (Division III) will host the championships in their respective divisions with support from the Louisville Sports Commission and the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau (LCVB).

“We’re elated with the opportunity to host 13 NCAA national championships in six different sports and across all divisions during the next four years,” said Louisville Sports Commission Executive Director Karl Schmitt. “These events will bring thousands of student-athletes, their families, fans and media to our community, generating positive economic impact, enhancing the quality of life and promoting Louisville as a great sports town.”

“The athletic departments at UofL, Bellarmine and Spalding are to be commended for their hard work and spirit of cooperation in successfully bidding on such a large number of national championships,” continued Schmitt. “We look forward to working with the three universities, the LCVB and the local hospitality industry in creating great experiences when we host these NCAA championships during the next four years.”

Bellarmine hosted the Fall Championships Festival in 2010 and the NCAA Spring National Championships Festival in 2012. UofL previously hosted women’s field hockey national championships on four occasions, while the Division I and Division II cross country national championships have been held at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park. As a new NCAA Division III member as of 2012-13, this was the first opportunity for Spalding to bid on and host NCAA post-season events.

For the first time in its history, the NCAA issued RFPs for championships en masse to place all of its post-season events in locations across the country between the fall of 2014 and the spring of 2018. The site selection process began in June 2013 when the NCAA issued RFPs for nearly 500 post-season events; prospective host sites were required to respond to the RFPs in early September and the NCAA issued a list of finalists in early November. The Louisville-based coalition of UofL, Bellarmine, Spalding, the Kentucky State Fair Board, AEG/KFC Yum! Center, LCVB and the Louisville Sports Commission put in bids for 41 championship events.

Since 1968, the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau's(LCVB)  primary goal has been to enhance the city and county's economy through tourism development - to promote and sell Louisville as a destination for conventions, trade shows, corporate meetings and pleasure and business travel on a worldwide basis. The LCVB was one of the first Destination Marketing Organizations to become accredited in 2006, through the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program, an independent, international standards program developed by the Washington, D.C. based Destination Marketing Association International. Lonely Planet Guidebooks recognized Louisville as its top U.S. travel destination for 2013.