Big Ten Announces Sites for Football, Basketball Championships Through 2024
The Big Ten announced the host venues of its football and basketball championships through 2024 on Wednesday.
The conference revealed that the Big Ten football championship game will continue to be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis through 2024, as it has since the event’s inception.
Minneapolis will serve as the site for the women’s basketball tournament in 2023 and the men’s and women’s tournaments in ’24. All basketball events will take place at the Target Center, which hosted the women’s Final Four earlier this month.
The Big Ten had previously announced that the 2023 men’s basketball tournament will take place at Chicago’s United Center.
“We are thrilled to bring marquee conference events such as the Big Ten football championship game and the Big Ten basketball tournaments to world-class cities and venues within the conference footprint,” league commissioner Kevin Warren said in a statement. “Indianapolis and Minneapolis each have a strong history and tradition of hosting some of the world’s premier events in cities that feature an exceptional base of Big Ten Conference alumni and fans. We look forward to creating new memories and experiences for our student-athletes, coaches, and member institutions, further expanding our fanbase, cultivating relationships with the business community, and fostering a positive and lasting impact on these cities.”
Indianapolis and Lucas Oil Stadium have played host to the Big Ten’s football championship game since 2011, when the event first began. The venue welcomed in 67,183 fans for Michigan’s victory over Iowa in ’21, marking the third-largest football crowd in stadium history behind Super Bowl XLVI and the ’22 College Football Playoff national championship.
Minneapolis will be the first city outside of Indianapolis to host the women’s basketball tournament since 2015. The ’24 tournament will mark the fifth different city to host the men’s event since the championship began in 1998.
In 2019, Minneapolis hosted the men’s Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium.
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