NCAA Forgoes Normal Site Selection Process In Giving '22 Final Four To New Orleans

The NCAA on Thursday announced Mercedes-Benz Superdome as host of the '22 Final Four, the "sixth time overall" for New Orleans, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The men's basketball committee decided to "forgo the traditional site selection process in choosing New Orleans, which wasn't selected during the last bid cycle." Locations from '23-25 "will be announced in the summer" of '18. NCAA VP/Men's Basketball Championships Dan Gavitt in a statement said, "With the Final Four competing for many of the same venues that host major events such as the Super Bowl and College Football Playoff, we did not want to wait until 2018 to make the announcement" (ESPN.com, 11/10). In New Orleans, William Guillory notes the addition of the '22 Final Four adds to the "list of major events" for the city, which includes the '17 NBA All-Star Game, '20 CFP title game and '20 NCAA Women's Final Four (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 11/11).