All 67 games of the 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will be played in the state of Indiana the NCAA announced on Tuesday, Jan. 1.
“The 2021 version of March Madness will be one to remember, if for no other reason than the uniqueness of the event,” said NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt in the release. “With the direction of the Men’s Basketball Committee, we are making the most of the circumstances the global pandemic has presented. We’re fortunate to have neighbors and partners in Indianapolis and surrounding communities who not only love the game of basketball as much as anyone else in the country but have a storied history when it comes to staging major sporting events.”
According to the release, Selection Sunday will still take place on March 14 and the Final Four will be played on April 3 and 5. The tournament will be hosted by Ball State, Butler, the Horizon League, Indiana, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and Purdue, all of which will be lending facilities and staff to help run the tournament.
Games will take place at two courts within Lucas Oil Stadium, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Mackey Arena and Simon Assembly Hall. Although two courts will be available at Lucas Oil Stadium, only one game will be played there at a time. All but the last two locations are in Indianapolis, while the two others, Mackey Arena and Simon Assembly Hall, are located in West Lafayette and Bloomington, respectively. In addition to the game locations, the Indiana Convention Center will be used as a practice facility.
“This is a historic moment for NCAA members and the state of Indiana,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert in the release. “We have worked tirelessly to reimagine a tournament structure that maintains our unique championship opportunity for college athletes. The reality of today’s announcement was possible thanks to the tremendous leadership of our membership, local authorities and staff.”
According to the release, the NCAA will be partnering with a local health provider in order to administer COVID-19 testing inside the controlled environment for the players, coaches, administrators and officials. In addition the Marion County Health Department, the county where Indianapolis is located, has approved medical protocols shared by the NCAA. The two will continue to collaborate leading up to and during the tournament.
All 67 games will be distributed by CBS Sports and Turner Sports with games being broadcasted onTBS, CBS, TNT, truTV and their digital platforms, according to the release.