Central Florida to Host 17 NCAA Championships

Central Florida will Host 17 NCAA Championships from 2022 through 2026

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has tapped the greater Orlando area to host 17 championship events from the fall of 2022 through the spring of 2026.

These will include the popular Division I first and second rounds of the men’s basketball championship series in 2023 at the Amway Center in downtown Orlando, along with the men’s and women’s tennis championships at the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) campus in Lake Nona. The University of Central Florida (UCF) will serve as a co-host of each.

Of the NCAA’s 90 annual championships, 86 were up for bid simultaneously over a four-year cycle, resulting in the NCAA awarding more than 450 host sites at once on Oct. 14. More than 3,000 bids were submitted from 46 states and Washington D.C., which included 68 bids the Greater Orlando Sports Commission submitted from Central Florida.

NCAA championship events attract spectators and families from across the United States, driving significant impact to hotels, restaurants and attractions in Central Florida. The events awarded to the region during this bid cycle are expected to drive a more than $27 million impact to the region. Before COVID-19 caused the cancellation of the NCAA’s spring 2020 championships, Central Florida had hosted at least one NCAA national championship or regional championship every year since 1996.