The NCAA has announced today that the Missouri Valley Conference will serve as host for 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship second- and third-round games in Kansas City, Mo. The games will be played at Sprint Center on Friday, March 22, and Sunday, March 24, 2013.

 The Valley has helped bring 10 NCAA events to St. Louis since 1993, hosting men’s regionals in 1993, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2007 and 2010; a men’s first/second round in 2002, the Women’s Final Four in 2001 and in 2009, and the Men’s Final Four in 2005. The 2013 event will mark the first time the St. Louis-based Missouri Valley Conference will host an NCAA basketball championship event in a city other than St. Louis, although Creighton and The Valley co-hosted a men’s basketball first/second round in Omaha in 2008.

 “The award of the 2013 event is testimony to the faith and trust the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee has in the Missouri Valley Conference and in Kansas City,” says Doug Elgin, commissioner of the Missouri Valley Conference. “The Valley and its partners have always been committed to conducting first-class, fiscally responsible events. We are thrilled to have another chance to host an NCAA Tournament event and establish new relationships with our hosting partners in Kansas City.”

 The Basketball Committee also announced today that Washington, D.C. will host the 2013 tournament’s East Regional March 28 and 30 at the Verizon Center. Georgetown University will be the host institution for the event, which returns to the nation’s capital for the sixth time since 1998.

 In 2013, the four regional sites include Washington, D.C., Arlington (Texas), Indianapolis, and Los Angeles and those games will be played from March 28-31. Dayton will host the First Four March 19 and 20 and is also one of eight cities hosting second- and third-round games March 21-24. The others are Auburn Hills, Mich.; Austin, Texas; Kansas City; Lexington, Ky.; Philadelphia; Salt Lake City and San Jose. The Final Four will be held April 6 and 8 in Atlanta.

 In related action, the committee authorized the NCAA’s proposed timeline to select sites for the 2014 and 2015 preliminary rounds. The process will begin in mid-June and hosts are expected to be announced in November.


YEAR-BY-YEAR HIGHLIGHTS OF EVENTS HOSTED BY THE VALLEY

• 2010-- For the first time in league history, the conference hosted a men’s event with a league representative as UNI represented the Valley in the 2010 Midwest Regional in St. Louis. Michigan State advanced to the Final Four with a 70-69 win over Tennessee. The Spartans were without top playmaker Kalin Lucas, but Durrell Summers stepped up in his absence, scoring 21 points and pulling down four rebounds.
• 2009-- UConn’s Tina Charles has 25 points and 19 rebounds while earning tourney Most Outstanding Player honors. Connecticut beat Louisville, 76-54, winning its sixth National Championship, and completing its third perfect season. It wins every game by double-digits for the first time in NCAA history.
• 2007-- Eventual national champion Florida secured its berth in the 2007 Final Four by winning two games in St. Louis at the Midwest Regional at the Edward Jones Dome. Guard Taurean Green, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, averaged 19.0 points, while shooting 50 percent from the floor (10-20) and 56.3 percent from three-point range (9-16).
• 2005 -- At the 2005 Final Four, Sean May made all but one of his 11 shots and scored 26 points to lead North Carolina to a 75-70 victory over Illinois. The tournament’s Most Outstanding Player is the son of Scott May, who scored 26 points in the 1976 finals as Indiana completed an undefeated season with a victory over Michigan in the NCAA championship game.
• 2004 -- In 2004 at the Edward Jones Dome, a total of 61,449 fans attended the St. Louis Regional. Georgia Tech advanced to the Final Four after beating Nevada and Kansas. Kansas beat UAB in the initial game of the regional. The two crowds both eclipsed 30,000 and were the most at any game in the NCAA Tournament that year, with the exception of the Final Four.
• 2002 -- In 2002 at the Edward Jones Dome, a total of 73,774 fans passed through the turnstiles to witness the first-ever NCAA First/Second Round competition played in St. Louis.
• 2001 -- The 2001 Women’s Final Four saw MVC member Missouri State advance to the national semifinals, before falling to Purdue. In the process, the Lady Bears became the first MVC women’s basketball program to reach the Final Four. Missouri State also reached the 1992 Final Four while competing under the Gateway Conference umbrella. Notre Dame won the title in 2001 with a sellout of 20,551 on hand.
• 1999 -- In March of 1999, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Midwest Regional was hosted by The Valley and the city of St. Louis on Friday and Sunday, March 19 and 21. On consecutive days, the 1999 Midwest Regional drew NCAA Tournament record crowds of 42,440 and 42,519 fans to the Edward Jones Dome.
• 1998 -- In March of 1998, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Midwest Regional was hosted by The Valley and the city of St. Louis on Friday and Sunday, March 20 and 22. Sellout crowds of 22,172 at Savvis Center each day witnessed the Stanford Cardinal advance to the 1998 NCAA Final Four in San Antonio, after defeating Purdue and Rhode Island.
• 1993 -- During the 1993 NCAA Midwest Regional, Calbert Chaney of Indiana was voted the MVP, but Kansas took the regional title, beating Indiana, 83-77, in the final.