NCAA Announces Big Change to Women's Final Four Starting in 2028

The 2025 women's Final Four was held in Tampa Bay.
The 2025 women's Final Four was held in Tampa Bay. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Women's basketball, both collegiately and professionally, has never been more popular. The last few years has seen a tangible surge in viewership and the sport as a whole seems to be on a strong upward trajectory with more fans than ever invested in the product. The NCAA is recognizing that, and on Tuesday announced a big change to the women's end-of-year tournament that reflects the greater interest.

Starting in 2028, the women's Final Four will be held in Indianapolis. Not only that, but the games will also be played Lucas Oil Stadium, which will significantly increase the number of seats available. The men's Final Four is annually held at the same location to conclude March Madness.

"Moving the 2028 Women's Final Four to Lucas Oil Stadium will allow for more access for our fans, and it represents the continued growth of the sport," Amanda Braun, chair of the Division I Women's Basketball Committee, said in a statement. "With the interest we have seen, holding the Women's Final Four in a larger venue in Indianapolis is a natural next step."

It has been over 20 years since the women's Final Four was held in a football stadium rather than a basketball arena. The NCAA's statement says they expect an increase of 13,000 available seats as a result of the change. Last year's Final Four was held in Tampa Bay.

A great change for the fans and a sign of the significant strides women's basketball has made over the last few years.


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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.