INDIANAPOLIS - Indianapolis will host the 2026 NCAA Men’s Final Four. The selection announcement was made by the NCAA earlier this afternoon. The 2026 Men’s Final Four is scheduled for April 4 and 6, 2026 at Lucas Oil Stadium, and will be the city’s ninth Men’s Final Four. Indianapolis will host its eighth Men’s Final Four in April of 2021. The nine Men’s Final Fours in Indianapolis are second only to the 10 hosted in Kansas City (most recently in 1988).
“The state of Indiana is a place with deep roots in the basketball community, making it our privilege and honor to host the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four for the ninth time,” said Ryan Vaughn, Indiana Sports Corp President. “March Madness is one of the most distinguished events in collegiate athletics and we will work tirelessly to ensure that the 2026 Final Four captivates fans from across the country. We at Indiana Sports Corp are delighted that the city of Indianapolis has been awarded this opportunity and would like to thank the NCAA Men’s Basketball Selection Committee for trusting us with their event.”
Indiana Sports Corp will manage the Indiana Host Committee in partnership with NCAA Host Institutions - Horizon League and IUPUI - for the 2021 and 2026 Men’s Final Fours in Indianapolis.
“We are thrilled to have been awarded the 2026 Final Four alongside our co-host and Horizon League member IUPUI,” said Jon LeCrone, Horizon League Commissioner. “This is wonderful news for our community and we are honored and privileged to host for the ninth time. Thanks to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee for entrusting us to help organize and operate this remarkable event.”
“Indianapolis has a long history of setting the standard for NCAA Championships in this city and we look to continue to build on that history when we host the 2026 NCAA Men’s Final Four,” said Dr. Rod Perry, Director of Athletics at IUPUI. “Every individual involved in hosting takes great pride in their role in providing the student-athletes, teams and fans the best possible championship experience. Our institution looks forward to partnering with the Indiana Sports Corp and Horizon League to make the 2026 Men’s Final Four the best one yet.”
Indianapolis previously hosted the Men’s Final Four in 1980 (Market Square Arena); 1991, 1997, 2000, and 2006 at the RCA Dome; and 2010 and 2015 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The 2015 Men’s Final Four set several attendance and viewership records at that time. The two-session Final Four attendance totaled 143,387, the highest ever for Lucas Oil Stadium. The Turner Sports exclusive presentation of the national semifinals across TBS, TNT and truTV grossed 16.4 million total viewers while the Kentucky-Wisconsin game became the most-viewed college basketball game of all time on a cable television network. In addition, a record-breaking 2,069 media credentials were issued and more than 76,832 people attended Final Four Fan Fest, which set an all-time record.
The 2021 Men’s Final Four will mark the 24th time since 1940 that the men’s basketball championship has come to Indianapolis. Indianapolis has also been the host for an NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional on five occasions (1940, 1979, 2009, 2013 and 2014) with the Regional returning in 2020. The city hosted first and second round competition in 1978, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2003, 2005 and most recently in 2017 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Women’s Final Four has also been held in Indianapolis three times (2005, 2011 and 2016).
Other cities receiving Men’s Final Fours include Houston (2023), Phoenix (2024) and San Antonio (2025).
Ticket and volunteer opportunities for the 2021 and 2026 NCAA Men’s Final Fours coming to Indianapolis can be found at www.IndianaSportsCorp.org. As further information comes available, it will be added to the website listed above.
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Founded in 1979 as the nation’s first sports commission, Indiana Sports Corp is a not-for-profit organization focused on bringing premier sporting events to Indiana to drive economic vitality, facilitate a vibrant community with civic pride and garner positive media attention. Because of this, Indiana Sports Corp is able to provide positive, sports-related opportunities for youth in the community. For more information, please visit IndianaSportsCorp.org.