NCAA women’s regional returning

NCAA events just keep coming to Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena.

The Arena, with Washington State University as the host, was awarded a regional for the 2008 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship tournament on Wednesday.

“I was informed by the NCAA Committee that it is aware of the quality events we have hosted in the past and is excited about returning to Spokane,” WSU senior associate Director of Athletics/Senior Woman Administrator Marcia Saneholtz said in a university press release.

This is the fifth time WSU and the Arena have teamed up for a NCAA championship event, the second women’s regional.

In 2001 the West Regional was in Spokane, which happened to include the University of Washington and Southwest Missouri State, which had NCAA Player of the Year Jackie Stiles. The Elite Eight game between the two drew 11,144, the largest basketball crowd in Arena history at that time for a two-day total of 22,092, the most of any regional site in 2001 and the third-highest total among NCAA regional sites from 2000-05.

The two-day event will be either March 29 and 31, or March 30 and April 1. Exact dates will be determined at a later time and tickets will go on sale about 11 months before the event.

“By awarding us this championship, the NCAA recognizes the outstanding partnership between WSU and the Spokane Arena and knows we will run a first-class event,” WSU assistant athletic director for events and facilities operations John David Wicker said.

Regionals, which include four teams with three games to determine a Final Four entry, are no longer designated by geography. The other regionals for 2008 are in New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Greensboro, N.C. Spokane has the smallest site, with the NCAA listing 12,000 seats, but Greensboro seats only 12,005.

The Arena is also the site for first- and second-round games in the 2007 men’s tournament. The NCAA men’s tournament was in Spokane for the first two rounds in 2003, featuring five of the top eight selections in the 2004 NBA draft. The 1997 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament final four was in Spokane, drawing 21,076, an event record at the time.

The NCAA also awarded its 2007 sites for the women’s tournament.

The four regionals are in Dallas; Dayton, Ohio; Greensboro and Fresno, Calif.