The entire NCAA women’s basketball tournament will take place in the San Antonio area

The NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament will take place on six courts in five locations in the San Antonio region from March 21 to April 4, it was announced on Friday. Alamodome will host the Final Four for women, Elite Eight and Sweet 16. All 63 games of the 64-team event will be televised by the ESPN family of networks and will be available on the ESPN app. No decision has yet been made on fan participation.

The first round will be in three cities: San Antonio; Austin, Texas; and San Marcos, Texas. All subsequent games will be in San Antonio.

Alamodome had previously been scheduled to host the women’s final in 2021, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire event was moved to that area for safety reasons. COVID-19 testing will take place throughout the event, and the NCAA will work with the San Antonio Metro Health Department on approved medical protocols.

“Like the 2020-21 season, we know the championship will have its challenges, but we believe we have the structure and guarantees to ensure a quality student-athlete championship experience,” said the chair of the Division I women’s basketball committee. Nina King. a declaration. “We are confident that a geographical region allows us to focus on the potential benefits of performing certain safety measures in a controlled environment, with places of competition and practice, medical resources and accommodation for teams and officials, all in the immediate vicinity.”

The first round is March 21-22. The San Antonio Games will be held at the Alamodome (which will have two courts), at the Bill Greehey Arena at St. Mary and the UTSA Convocation Center. The Austin Games will be at the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas, and the San Marcos Games will be at the Strahan Arena in Texas State.

In the second round, March 23-24, all games will take place in the three locations in San Antonio. After that, all games will be at Alamodome. The regional semifinals will take place on March 27-28, the regional finals on March 29-30 and the Final Four on April 2 and 4. Alamodome will be reconfigured for a single yard for the Final Four.

The NCAA tournament field will be revealed on Selection Monday, March 15 (ESPN / ESPN app, 7:00 p.m. ET). The team travel parties will have a maximum of 34 people and each team will be hosted in hotels in Bexar County, San Antonio, along with other people tested at level 1.

Internships for all teams will be in San Antonio at the two Alamodome courts and at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, which can hold nine courts. San Antonio previously hosted the Final Four Women in 2002 and 2010.

“We appreciate the historical significance of moving the entire championship to one region and want to recognize the work of the women’s basketball committee and staff, our hosts, local organizers and ESPN that allowed us to make plans for a successful championship in 2021. ”. Lynn Holzman, NCAA vice president of women’s basketball, said in a statement. “We are fortunate to work with San Antonio, which has one of the most experienced local organizing committees in the country.”