Wisconsin will co-host the 2023 NCAA Frozen Four for men's ice hockey and host the 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships, according to the NCAA.
Wisconsin returns to Tampa as 2023 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four co-host
The NCAA is returning to Tampa, Florida, for the 2023 NCAA Men's Frozen Four and Wisconsin will play co-host with the Tampa Bay Sports Commission (TBSC) at Amalie Arena.
Wisconsin and the TBSC partnered to play host to the 2016 NCAA Men's Frozen Four in Tampa.
This will mark the fifth time Wisconsin will serve as host or co-host of the event, including 2006, 1997 and 1993 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Wisconsin hoisted the National Championship trophy in 2006, while the 1993 and 1997 Frozen Fours were won by Maine and North Dakota, respectively. UND won in 2016.
This also marks the third time Amalie Arena will see the NCAA Men's Frozen Four with the event taking place in the building in 2012, as well.
"We are again happy to partner with the Tampa Bay Sports Commission to help play host to the 2023 NCAA Men's Frozen Four," UW Senior Associate AD Jason King said. "We were pleased with how the partnership went in 2016 at Amalie Arena and look forward to playing host to the men's college hockey world three years from now."
The four NCAA Men's Frozen Four sites chosen for 2023-26 include Tampa (Amalie Arena – April 6-8, 2023), St. Paul, Minnesota (Xcel Energy Center – April 11-13, 2024), St. Louis (Enterprise Center – April 10-12, 2025) and Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena – April 9-11, 2026). The newly-announced sites join Pittsburgh's PPG Paints Arena, which is scheduled to host this season's event on April 8-10, 2021, and Boston's TD Garden, which welcomes the event April 7-9, 2022, as locations for upcoming NCAA men's hockey championships.
Regional sites for 2023 are Fargo, North Dakota, Allentown, Pennsylvania, Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Manchester, New Hampshire.
"The response of our membership, host cities and local organizing committees to this process was tremendous," said Joni Comstock, NCAA senior vice president of championships. "Thanks to their commitment, we are excited that our student-athletes will play in some of the top locations and venues in the United States."
Bidding for 86 of 90 NCAA championships began in August 2019 and more than 3,000 bid applications were ultimately submitted. Each sport committee, per division, selected the host sites it believed would provide the ultimate experience for the respective student-athletes, resulting in more than 450 total championship event sites being awarded. More than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships each year. The four championships not included in the process due to preexisting site arrangements are: Division I baseball, Division I football, Division I softball and Division III women's ice hockey.
Wisconsin to host 2024 NCAA Cross Country Championships
For the third time in program history, Wisconsin will host the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The NCAA announced on Wednesday that the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course will be site of the 2024 national meet for men and women.
“We’re very excited about bringing the NCAA cross country championships back to Madison,” said Mick Byrne, UW director of track and field, and cross country. “The 2018 edition at the Zimmer course was a huge success on many levels. Our event management staff did a first-class job from an organizational prospective and the race-day experience was next level. I’ve been to a lot of these championships and the 2018 Wisconsin experience was by far the most electrifying championship atmosphere I’ve ever been part of.”
Wisconsin hosted the 2018 NCAA Championships at Zimmer with Badger Morgan MacDonald winning the men’s individual title. Wisconsin finished eighth in the men’s race while the women finished 10th.
UW also hosted the 1978 NCAA Championships for men at Yahara Hills Golf Course on the south side of Madison where Wisconsin finished third.
For more information on all of the NCAA championship sites awarded, log on to ncaa.com.