The group behind Portland’s failed attempt to land the Women’s Final Four in either ’25 or ’26 is unsure whether the civil unrest in the city in recent months played a factor in the NCAA’s decision, but the head of the group admits it “didn’t help.” Sport Oregon CEO Jim Etzel appeared on Portland-area KXTG-AM yesterday and discussed the city losing out to Tampa (’25) and Phoenix (’26), saying, “Portland has been in the national news for a lot of the wrong reasons this summer, so we punched it right in the face right at the beginning of our presentations. They never really had any questions about it, but we don’t know.” He added, “They’re going to call us in two or three weeks and have a breakdown of how our bid stacked up, and we’ll do a deep dive on it.” Etzel acknowledged many cities bidding for the first time on a major NCAA event like the Women’s Final Four have “not gotten it but gotten it the next cycle.” However, he stressed Sport Oregon “definitely interested” in trying again during the next bid cycle. Etzel: “We’re just going to dust ourselves off and get back after it because we do believe we have the most compelling story for the Women’s Final Four” ("The Bald Faced Truth," KXTG-AM, 10/14).
