The Big Ten will add Minneapolis as the host city for their basketball tournaments starting in 2023.
Minneapolis will host the Big Ten women’s basketball tournament in 2023 and both men’s and women’s tournaments in 2024. All three events will take place at the Target Center, site of the women’s Final Four earlier this month. In 2019, Minneapolis hosted the Men’s Final Four at US Bank Stadium.
“This is a huge opportunity for our Big Ten footprint, our fan base, not just in Minneapolis but in the state of Minnesota and at the national and regional levels,” Diana Sabau, deputy commissioner and chief sports officer of the Big Ten, told ESPN. “Minneapolis hosted the women’s Final Four this year. They recently hosted a men’s Final Four and they just have a tremendous basketball mentality in town with their two professional teams. We’re very excited to bring this to a new location and to give other Big Ten cities the opportunity to host our marquee events.”
The Big Ten also announced Wednesday that their 2023 and 2024 soccer championship game will remain in Indianapolis. The 2022 game was previously announced for Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, which has hosted every Big Ten football championship since the event began in 2011. The Big Ten also previously announced that its 2023 Chicago Men’s Basketball Tournament will be held at the United Center.
The Big Ten men’s basketball tournament, established in 1998, alternated between Chicago and Indianapolis for much of its existence, with Washington hosting in 2017 and New York the following year. The 2017 and 2018 events drew criticism for their venues, particularly the New York event, which was held a week earlier than usual to accommodate the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.
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The women’s basketball tournament, which became an annual event in 1995, has been held at various Indianapolis locations for all but three years. The event went to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2001 and to suburban Chicago in 2013 and 2015.
Although the 2023 women’s and men’s tournaments will be held in different cities, Sabau sees the value of the league in hosting both events at the same location, usually on back-to-back weekends in March.
“The future is wide open to possibilities for where our tournaments and championship games could be held based on a competitive bidding process that works well for our memberships and fan base,” said Sabau.
She added that the Big Ten accepted the final bids for the most recent event cycle in Spring 2021 before allowing its members to determine the winning locations. The league submitted proposals for its soccer championship from several cities in its metropolitan area, including some with outdoor venues.
“We definitely want to make sure that health and welfare comes first, our championship game for our soccer student athletes, and that was our first concern,” Sabau said. “And then we really went through the pros and cons with our administration.”
The Big Ten are seeking shorter hosting arrangements for their soccer and basketball championships, in part to encourage bids from more cities and regions. Indianapolis did not bid on the Big Ten tournaments in 2024 as the city hosts the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament later in March.
“We are extremely excited to bring marquee conference events such as the Big Ten soccer championship game and Big Ten basketball tournaments to world-class cities and venues within the conference space,” said League Commissioner Kevin Warren in a statement. “Indianapolis and Minneapolis each have a strong history and tradition of hosting some of the world’s premier events in cities that boast exceptional bases of Big Ten Conference alumni and fans. We look forward to creating new memories and experiences for our students, athletes, coaches and member institutions, continuing to grow our fan base, nurturing relationships with the business community and fostering a positive and lasting impact on these cities.”