DAYTON — The University of Dayton announced Tuesday it has submitted an official bid to host games in the first and second rounds of the 2017 NCAA tournament.
The NCAA pulled the games from Greensboro, N.C.— and tournament games in the state in six other events in various sports — because of North Carolina's controversial HB2 law, which is also known as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act. The NCAA sought new bids from its entire membership.
“I just think we’ve got the organizational capacity and fan base to deliver a first-class championship experience like we’ve done,” UD Athletic Director Neil Sullivan said. “In 2013, we were the first venue to host 10 tournament games in one weekend, and we’d love to do it again.”
UD Arena has hosted more NCAA tournament games (113) than any venue in the country, and it will host the First Four in 2017 and 2018. In August, it bid to host the First Four from 2019-22 and first- and second-round games in 2021 and 2022.
INTERACTIVE: UD Arena's NCAA Tournament history
Dayton is used to submitting bids but had to get this proposal ready in a short time. Bids were due Tuesday.
“The issue most people have right now is mobilizing hotels, venue availability and just general hospitality on short notice,” Sullivan said. “We worked through that with our partners at the Big Hoopla. What I tell people is we’ve hosted more NCAA games than any arena in the country. We feel we’re built for this. Our community’s built for this. We figured we’d take a run at it.”
RELATED: 5 things to know about UD Arena's heart-thumping NCAA history
The NCAA will announce the winning bid Oct. 7. Providence, R.I., and Greenville, S.C., are among the cities that bid on the games.
“There’s no doubt the NCAA does have a principle of keeping teams as close to their area of natural interest for seeding purposes,” Sullivan said. “I certainly expect bids from the east and the south to get strong consideration for that reason, but when you look on a short-term basis in terms of being able to mobilize all the assets you need to host these games, I do think it’s open.”
FLYER NATION: Like our Facebook page to join the conversation
