The NCAA announced Monday afternoon where the men’s Final Four will be played from 2023-26. Houston will host the event in 2023, and will be succeeded by Phoenix, San Antonio and Indianapolis. All four of these locations have hosted Final Fours in recent years. San Antonio hosted the event a year ago, Phoenix in 2017, Houston in 2016 and Indianapolis in 2015. With this knowledge, we now know the location of the Final Four from the upcoming season through 2026. Future Men’s Final Four Locations 2019: Minneapolis 2020: Atlanta 2021: Indianapolis 2022: New Orleans 2023: Houston 2024: Phoenix 2025: San Antonio 2026: Indianapolis Minneapolis will be hosting the Final Four for the fourth time this season, but for the first time since 2001.<doc-sep>The Final Four won't be returning to Detroit anytime in the next eight years. The city wasn't selected as one of the four host cities for the 2023-26 Final Fours, unveiled by the NCAA on Monday afternoon.. Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio and Indianapolis were chosen by the NCAA as the four hosts of the 2023-26 events, respectively. Detroit was left out along with other finalists Los Angeles and Dallas. "While we were eagerly looking forward to a more favorable outcome, we are proud of and grateful for the efforts put forward by the Big Ten, Michigan State University and the Detroit Sports Organizing Corp. to bring the NCAA Men's Final Four back to Detroit," Detroit Sports Commission Director Kris Smith said in a statement. "We thank the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee for allowing us to showcase the city of Detroit and present its viability as a premier event location. We look forward to continued collaboration with the NCAA on future men's basketball events, while teaming to host seven upcoming NCAA championship events in Detroit." Detroit was named one of seven finalists last week, according to reports from the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News among others. That came after members of the NCAA made a site tour to Detroit and Ford Field. Detroit previously hosted the 2009 Final Four at Ford Field, where Michigan State made the national championship game before falling to North Carolina. Since then, the facility has undergone $100 million in renovations that include new premium seating, new video boards, enhanced wireless internet and more, putting it in the conversation for a repeat visit. Now, it will have to wait until the next four year of bids are announced to have a shot at another Final Four. The Final Four is set to be held in Minneapolis in 2019, followed by Atlanta in 2020, Indianapolis in 2021 and New Orleans in 2022. Even without the Final four, Detroit will still host several big-name athletic events in the coming years, particularly following the opening of Little Caesars Arena last year. The arena is set to host the 2020 Frozen Four and NCAA Tournament games in 2021. Former Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis also indicated last year that LCA would push to host the Big Ten basketball tournament in coming years.<doc-sep>Detroit's best shot was rejected. After Detroit Sports Commission officials and city leaders spent more than a year attempting to woo another Final Four to town, the NCAA decided against awarding Detroit the men's basketball showcase. The announcement came Monday afternoon, as the NCAA revealed sites for 2023-26. Detroit was among seven finalists for the four bids, along with Los Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Indianapolis. Houston got 2023, Phoenix 2024, San Antonio 2025 and Indianapolis 2026. "Oh, the initial reaction was disappointment. Great disappointment," said Kris Smith, director of the Detroit Sports Commission. "We were definitely looking for a positive response to our bid. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. "I was surprised. You know, this community did a great job of putting its best foot forward, and our best foot forward is mighty in a lot of ways. So, absolutely, there was some surprise." The Detroit Sports Commission headlined the bidding process, and last month it hosted a contingent of NCAA officials for a tour of recently renovated Ford Field, as well as a swanky reception on the rooftop of the Madison Building. Among those in attendance: Interim Michigan State president John Engler, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo and Mark Hollis, the former Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis, who is working as a consultant for Dan Gilbert. Gilbert was expected to be involved in planning and marketing for Detroit's second Final Four. Last week in Boston, the NCAA hosted in-person presentations from the finalist cities. “This extremely competitive process mirrored the championship’s selections meeting, with the committee having lengthy conversations about the pros and cons of seven attractive and qualified locations,” Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball, said in a statement. “We are thrilled for the cities of Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio and Indianapolis. All those cities have hosted the event with overwhelming success in recent years, and yet all of them approached the bid process with an unassuming energy. "We look forward to bringing the NCAA’s marquee championship back to those locations.” For Indianapolis, it will be its ninth Final Four; only Kansas City (10) has hosted more. San Antonio gets its fifth, Houston its fourth and Phoenix its second. Michigan State was to be the host school if Detroit landed the bid, with the Big Ten serving as a co-host. Detroit Mercy was the host school in 2009, when North Carolina beat Michigan State in the final. This past March, Little Caesars Arena hosted first- and second-round games of the NCAA Tournament, and will again in 2021. The Detroit Sports Commission continues to assess other opportunities to bring marquee events to the city, Smith said, though he wouldn't go into specifics. "But rest assured, we do have a number of things in the hopper," he said. "Big picture, we will continue to sit back and look at (events) that make sense for our region. "I think what also needs to be mentioned, the NCAA already awarded us seven other championships, so they do have faith in our community. "So, while some people look at this as a loss, we look at it as a continuation of a relationship." Those events include the 2020 men's and women's fencing championships at Cobo Center, the 2020 women's bowling championship at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, the 2020 Frozen Four at Little Caesars Arena, the 2021 men's basketball NCAA Tournament first and second rounds at LCA, the 2021 Division II women's golf championships at TPC Michigan in Dearborn, the 2022 Division I wrestling championships at LCA, and the 2022 Division II men's golf championships at TPC Michigan. So, while there's some significant sting in missing out on the Final Four — the sites for 2019-22 had been previously announced, set for Minneapolis, Atlanta, Indianapolis and New Orleans, respectively — Smith said the commission still is "holding our heads pretty high." "But we still have some work to do," he said. Smith said the Detroit Sports Commission has solicited feedback from the NCAA, "to learn and get better," and is awaiting a response. No Detroit Final Fours awarded by the NCAA on Monday: ■ 2023: Houston (NRG Stadium) ■ 2024: Phoenix (University of Phoenix Stadium) ■ 2025: San Antonio (Alamodome) ■ 2026: Indianapolis (Lucas Oil Stadium) tpaul@detroitnews.com twitter.com/tonypaul1984<doc-sep>
The last time Los Angeles hosted a men's Final Four was 1972. The earliest it could possibly host another one is 2027. The NCAA announced on Monday the future sites for Final Fours through 2026. To the surprise of some, Los Angeles and its glimmering stadium-in-the-making are not part of the plans. So who won out? Houston, Phoenix/Glendale, San Antonio and Indianapolis were awarded for the big stage in years 2023-2026. The Final Four sites from 2019-2022 (Minneapolis, Atlanta, Indianapolis and New Orleans) had previously been announced. That quartet of metropolises have not only hosted Final Fours before, but those four cities have hosted Final Fours in the four most recent years: Indianapolis in 2015, Houston in 2016, Phoenix/Glendale in 2017 and San Antonio in 2018. Here's the Final Four schedule through 2026. Year City Venue 2019 Minneapolis US Bank Stadium 2020 Atlanta Mercedes- Benz Stadium 2021 Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium 2022 New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome 2023 Houston NRG Stadium 2024 Phoenix/Glendale University of Phoenix Stadium 2025 San Antonio Alamodome 2026 Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium There were seven cities who submitted bids for Final Four hosting in this round. Dallas/Arlington, Detroit and Los Angeles missed out. Detroit last hosted in 2009. Dallas hosted in 2014. Los Angeles has hosted twice in its history (1968 and 1972). The decisions on which cities not only got to host, but in which years, were made by the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee. That's the same group that seeds and selects the NCAA Tournament every year. For Houston, it's the fourth time the city's hosted a Final Four (1971, 2011, 2016). Phoenix/Glendale gets its second crack at being master of ceremonies; the 2017 Final Four was its only other time. San Antonio, a fan and media favorite alike, will be a fifth-time host come 2025 (previous years were 1998, 2004, 2008 and 2018). Indianapolis is now a bona fide lock to host a Final Four every five or six years. It's the only city hosting twice in the next eight seasons, and when the 2026 Final Four commences, it will mark the ninth time Indy gets the event (1980, 1991, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2021).