The Big 12 Conference will host NCAA Championship preliminary round competition in three straight seasons in three different cities, the NCAA has announced. The Conference will host first/second round games in Oklahoma City in 2016 and Dallas in 2018, along with regional round action in Kansas City in 2017. The Big 12 was the only host to be selected for all three years.

“The Big 12 is honored and excited to host March Madness in three consecutive years,” said Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “The local organizing committees in each city along with our staff worked extremely hard on these events. It is terrific that we can bring the excitement of March to three different venues in our geographic footprint and is a testament to the fans and their love for college basketball in our region.”

The three-year cycle of hosting will be the 11th, 12th and 13th time since the Big 12 Conference began competition in 1997 that it will serve as a host for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. The Big 12 has also hosted NCAA women’s basketball five times since ‘97.

Games in Oklahoma City will be played at Chesapeake Energy Arena, the home of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder. The Big 12 has hosted in Oklahoma City three times since ‘97, with all being first/second round sites. The 2016 event will mark the first time since 2010 that March Madness has come to Oklahoma City. The Road to the Final Four will have a strong Big 12 presence in 2016, as league member Iowa State University was also selected to host in Des Moines at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Midwest Regional will come to Sprint Center for the first time in 2017. It will also be the first time that the Big 12 has hosted a regional in the building and Kansas City’s first regional hosting duties since 1995. The city is no stranger to NCAA action - having hosted tournament games 128 times - more than any other city in the nation. The regional will be Kansas City’s 18th, also the most of any city.

NCAA men’s basketball first/second round contests will be back in Dallas for the first time since 2006. The region has welcomed the NCAA most recently when it hosted the 2014 Men’s Final Four and 2013 South Regional at AT&T Stadium. The American Airlines Center, home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, also hosted the NCAA Women’s Basketball Dallas Regional in 2011.

Big 12 NCAA Men’s Basketball championship Host History