The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee, which met June 25-29 in Orlando, Florida, announced the 24 cities that will host first- and second-round and regional games for the 2009 and 2010 championships.

A total of 56 cities submitted bids for 22 available positions; two (Indianapolis in 2009 and Houston in 2010) were pre-determined because those cities will host a regional the year before hosting the Men’s Final Four.

Host cities for the first weekend of the 2009 tournament are Philadelphia; Miami; Greensboro, North Carolina; Minneapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Boise, Idaho; Portland, Oregon.

Dayton, Ohio, which has hosted the opening-round game since its inception in 2001, will continue to be the site for the tournament’s first game through 2010. In addition, Dayton was selected to host first- and second-round games for the 2009 championship.

Regional sites in 2009 are Boston; Memphis, Tennessee; Indianapolis; and Glendale, Arizona.

In 2010, first- and second-round sites will be Buffalo, New York; Providence, Rhode Island; Jacksonville, Florida; New Orleans; Oklahoma City; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; San Jose, California; and Spokane, Washington.

Syracuse, New York; St. Louis; Salt Lake City; and Houston will serve as the four regional sites in 2010.

One of the highlights in the selection process was the awarding of first- and second-round games to New Orleans, which is trying to recover from the devastating flood that covered 80 percent of the city in August 2005.

The selection marks the fourth time part of the tournament will be held in New Orleans over a 10-year period.

"Nothing more strongly illustrates our support of the area than to assure New Orleans regularly hosts rounds of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship when possible," said Craig Littlepage, the committee chair and athletics director at the University of Virginia. "The committee was unanimous in its support."

Stakeholders in intercollegiate athletics are showing additional support for New Orleans’ recovery efforts. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics held its convention in the city June 20-23 and the Faculty Athletics Representatives Association will hold its Fall Forum there in November.

In addition to site selection, the basketball committee also discussed the idea of expanding the men’s tournament field. However, no formal proposal was made.

The last major expansion of the bracket came in 1985 when the field increased from 48 to 64 teams.

In 2001, a 65th spot was added, and it created the opening-round game that has been played in Dayton two days after Sunday’s selection show on CBS.

While some constituents have suggested expanding the field, the 10-person committee spent considerable time examining the various implications of increasing the number of teams in the tournament and reviewed feedback from a variety of organizations inside and outside the membership.

The committee agreed that while expansion was a topic worthy of discussion, such growth currently is not in the best interests of the championship or its participants.

Members noted that any expansion proposals in the future must consider such logistical factors as length of season, conference tournament dates and television contracts.

Committee members also conducted their annual review of selection principles and procedures and voted to change references containing "the most deserving" teams to "the best" teams being selected for at-large berths to most accurately reflect how the process works. That coincides with the championships selection philosophy the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet reaffirmed at its June meeting: After automatic qualifiers are earned, the best teams should be chosen on an at-large basis regardless of conference or regional affiliations.

The basketball committee also discussed College Sports Television’s 60 original broadcast hours devoted to the tournament. The cable network, which was purchased by CBS in November 2005, showed pre- and postgame news conferences, and also re-broadcast the best games of the 2006 tournament over a 24-hour period.

In addition, Hank Nichols, the national coordinator of men’s basketball officiating, spoke to the committee about the current state of officiating, emphasizing the need to monitor rough play and bench decorum by coaches. The committee agreed that current rules pertaining to those two areas need to be enforced.