Ask Cheryl Marra if there's a creativity race going on when it comes to bidding on NCAA championships, and she'll say she's seen it first-hand.

In the summer of 1999, Marra, senior associate athletics director at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, flew to Palm Springs, California, to present the university's bid to the Division I Women's Volleyball Committee in hopes of hosting the national championship.

In the spring of 2003, Marra, as chair of the Division I Women's Basketball Committee, found herself on the other side of the table listening to four cities make presentations for a chance to host the Women's Final Four.

In four short years, she learned that what it takes to be granted the opportunity to host an NCAA championship had changed a great deal.

"When I presented for the volleyball championship in Palm Springs, I was there by myself with no PowerPoint or anything like that," Marra said. "Today, it's just not the same experience at all. There is so much creativity that goes into presentations with PowerPoints and videos. It's a whole different ballgame."

The "ballgame" Marra refers to is the one institutions and cities play for the opportunity to host an NCAA ballgame. It starts with an announcement in The NCAA News saying that a sports committee is accepting bids to host its championship for specific years. Cities must have an NCAA member institution and/or conference as a host institution in order to bid. The bid process begins with the host institution filling out a multiple-page form that includes information such as projected attendance, expenditures, revenue, and in some cases, a financial guarantee. The financial guarantee is the approximate amount of money that would be returned to NCAA member institutions. The form also includes a request for basic information to ensure the host can accommodate certain minimum requirements with regard to areas such as lodging and facilities.

"From our perspective, most of the work is done before the presentation even begins," said Chris Roseman, director of events for the St. Louis Sports Commission, which recently was awarded the 2007 Men's Frozen Four and the 2009 Women's Final Four. "For the Frozen Four, we went to the event for the past three years and listened to committee members and talked with fans to find out what they wanted. We needed to be able to make sure we could address every concern that the committee might have about our city."

After receiving the bids, the committee narrows the field to a select number for in-person presentations. In Division I men's and women's basketball, committee members travel to the finalist cities for site visits before the in-person presentations (see related story below).

Currently, seven sport committees stage in-person site selection presentations: Division I men's ice hockey, Division I-AA football, Division I men's lacrosse, Division I men's and women's soccer, Division I women's volleyball, Division I wrestling and Division II men's basketball. Division I men's and women's tennis could be added to the list next year if the committee's request for a combined men's and women's site is approved.

Function over form

As for what it takes to catch a committee's attention, the NCAA's Tom Jacobs said while the personality of the presentation is important, the merits of the case will win the day.

"The bid needs to be strong financially, demonstrate a commitment to organization and feature a capable facility," said Jacobs, a director of NCAA championships and the liaison to the Division I men's ice hockey and men's soccer committees. "The presentation might have all the bells and whistles, but at the end of the day, the bid will speak for itself."

But presenters haven't shied away from bells and whistles. With the increasingly competitive atmosphere surrounding the bid process, cities look for any area that might separate them from the field.

Typically, a city brings in about half a dozen community representatives to speak. The speakers may include mayors, arena general managers, athletics directors, university presidents, conference commissioners and sports organizing committee chairs. Each individual addresses the committee on what the championship would mean to the city, and the presentation often includes a video and a PowerPoint slide show.

The video typically highlights the city and the venue. In addition, many people on the video, including governors, famous alumni and former student-athletes, speak about how having a championship in that city would enhance the student-athlete experience.

"There is no magic formula for a successful bid beyond the need to provide the highest-quality facility, lodging and transportation package," said Greg Shaheen, NCAA vice-president for the Division I Men's Basketball Championship. "Committees aren't looking for pyrotechnics and powerful music to make their decisions -- they want to be confident that the comprehensive offering of the bid city, with a specific focus on the student-athlete experience, is front and center in deliberations."

That's not to say originality isn't important. The St. Louis Sports Commission and College Hockey America decided to go with a laid-back approach. Instead of wearing suits, the presenters wore sweatshirts or collared shirts of the institutions that the men's ice hockey committee represented.

"It goes back to knowing what is important to the committee," Roseman said. "You have to become familiar with what they want to hear and what they want to see. The committee is your portal to the championship -- you have to make them look good. We will be working as hard as we can over the next three or four years to prepare for the event to make sure that the committee doesn't regret selecting us as host."

Financial benefits

Indeed, the time commitment for a potential host can be lengthy. From the time it takes to compile the bid materials and presentation until the time the event is completed, an organizing committee can spend as many as 10 years preparing to host one event.

But there is a reward for the efforts of the host institutions as honorariums can reach upwards of $200,000 for some of the NCAA's more high-profile events. However, the real compensation comes in terms of economic impact and overall visibility for the city. With thousands of fans spending money at hotels, restaurants, shops and museums, the economic impact can top $100 million for a city hosting a Men's Final Four. Other events can generate as much as $25 million for the local economy.

"The competition for hosting championships has become so much greater," said Marc Ryan, associate athletics director at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, an institution that recently has hosted the Men's Frozen Four, the Men's Final Four and a men's basketball regional. "More and more people are understanding the value of hosting NCAA championships, not only financially, but also in terms of bringing fans into the community and having the host institution and city receive national television exposure."

Depending on the championship, the host institution's honorarium may be a set amount or a percentage of the net revenue from the event. Thus, a successful championship can be financially rewarding to the host institution and, ultimately, the rest of the NCAA membership since excess revenues are returned through a supplemental distribution at the end of the year.

The decision

After all the bells and whistles have been presented, the committee comes to a point where it must make a decision. In addition to determining what will be the best overall experience for the student-athletes, part of the decision also concerns geography.

"The committee looks at geographic considerations, the last time the venue hosted and the other facilities/bids submitted in the same area as part of its process," Shaheen said. "There is little a bid city/host can do in this regard. For example, the basketball committee generally prefers Final Four sites to be spaced by not less than four years' separation, simply to allow the city and host to 'reset' from a hosting experience that can be time-consuming and require substantial resources, energy and focus over a significant period."

Committees forward their decisions to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet, and once approval is granted, the championship's media coordinator distributes a release.

All in all, according to Wisconsin's Marra, committees are looking for sites that will provide the best student-athlete experience. She said presenters should have that as their focus from the opening bell to the final whistle.

"The most effective presentations are the ones that are able to provide the committee with a great picture of what it would be like in the city if they were to host the championship," Marra said. "It's important to create enthusiasm, as that enthusiasm is infectious."