The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee has chosen Denver, New Orleans, Nashville, Tampa Bay and Indianapolis to host the Women’s Final Four from 2012 through 2016.

The Women’s Final Four sites are:

• 2012 – Denver (Pepsi Center; Mountain West Conference, host)
• 2013 – New Orleans (New Orleans Arena; University of New Orleans, host)
• 2014 – Nashville (Sommet Center; Ohio Valley Conference, host)
• 2015 – Tampa Bay (St. Pete Times Forum; University of South Florida, host)
• 2016 – Indianapolis (Site to be determined; Butler University, IUPUI and Horizon League, hosts)

“We invested a tremendous amount of time and effort in the Women’s Final Four site selection process,” said Jacki Silar, chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and associate director of athletics at Duke.  “It was a very difficult and important decision, and it was the committee’s charge to determine which of the cities would best serve as future host sites for the pinnacle of women’s basketball – the Women’s Final Four.”

After submitting an intent-to-bid last November, representatives of 12 cities attended a pre-bid seminar in January and met with NCAA staff for individual planning and progress updates in April and June. After selecting eight finalist cities in August, women’s basketball committee members visited each finalist city in September and October. After the site visits, representatives of the bid committee made final presentations to the committee in Indianapolis.

When evaluating prospective host cities, the committee reviewed each city’s competition venue, convention center, hotel community, transportation plans, legacy programs and financial commitment, as well as the community’s and prospective host institution/conference’s overall commitment to the event.

The cities selected represent a blend of cities with past Women’s Final Four hosting experience in Indianapolis (2005), New Orleans (1991, 2004) and Tampa Bay (2008). Denver and Nashville will be hosting the event for the first time.

“We would like to express our appreciation to the prospective host cities and bid committees that participated in the bid process for the 2012-16 Women’s Final Four,” said NCAA Executive Vice President Tom Jernstedt. “The time, effort and enthusiasm in each of their bids were noteworthy, and because of this kind of commitment and engagement, the Women’s Final Four will continue to be the outstanding celebration of women’s basketball that it has become.”