Host sites selected for preliminary rounds of the 2014 NCAA DI championship

From the NCAA:

A first-time host and two locations that last hosted a championship round more than a decade ago highlight the first- and second-round and regional sites for the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship, as selected by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee.

Cities chosen to host first- and second-round games in 2014 include Ames, Iowa; Baton Rouge, La.; Chapel Hill, N.C.; College Park, Md.; College Station, Texas; Durham, N.C.; Iowa City, Iowa; Knoxville, Tenn.; Lexington, Ky.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; Storrs, Conn.; Toledo, Ohio; University Park, Penn.; Waco, Texas; and West Lafayette, Ind. The four selected regional sites are Lincoln, Neb.; Louisville, Ky.; Notre Dame, Ind., and Stanford, Calif.

Toledo will be hosting Division I Women’s Basketball Championship play for the first time, while Los Angeles’ Pauley Pavilion, which hosted the 1984 NCAA Women’s Final Four, will see championship play for the first time since 1999. Lexington, which will host first- and second-round action, will be involved in championship play for the first time since the 1986 Women’s Final Four.

“The committee continues to look for ways to create a better in-arena atmosphere for our student-athletes, improve attendance and enhance the broadcast look of the games,” Carolayne Henry said, chair of the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee and senior associate commissioner/senior woman administrator at the Mountain West Conference. “The 2014 championship presented us with a unique opportunity for our institutional hosts during the regional rounds of play. The committee is continuing to look at other host and format options that make sense for our championship going into 2015 and beyond.”

The following first- and second-round sites will host games either Saturday, March 22, and Monday, March 24 or Sunday, March 23, and Tuesday, March 25, 2014 (dates to be determined):

VENUE	SITE	HOST(S)
Hilton Coliseum	Ames, Iowa	Iowa State
Pete Maravich Assembly Center	Baton Rouge, La.	LSU
Carmichael Arena	Chapel Hill, N.C.	North Carolina
Comcast Center	College Park, Md.	Maryland
Reed Arena	College Station, Texas	Texas A&M
Cameron Indoor Stadium	Durham, N.C.	Duke
Carver-Hawkeye Arena	Iowa City, Iowa	Iowa
Thompson-Boling Arena	Knoxville, Tenn.	Tennessee
Memorial Coliseum	Lexington, Ky.	Kentucky
Pauley Pavilion	Los Angeles, Calif.	UCLA
Alaska Airlines Arena	Seattle, Wash.	Washington
Harry A. Gampel Pavilion	Storrs, Conn.	Connecticut
Savage Arena	Toledo, Ohio	Toledo
Bryce Jordan Center	University Park, Pa.	Penn State
Ferrell Center	Waco, Texas	Baylor
Mackey Arena	West Lafayette, Ind.	Purdue

The following regional sites will host games either Saturday, March 29, and Monday, March 31 or Sunday, March 30, and Tuesday, April 1, 2014 (dates to be determined):

REGIONAL	VENUE	SITE	HOST(S)
Lincoln Regional	Pinnacle Bank Arena	Lincoln, Neb.	Nebraska
Louisville Regional	KFC Yum! Center	Louisville, Ky.	Louisville
Notre Dame Regional	Joyce Center	Notre Dame, Ind.	Notre Dame
Stanford Regional	Maples Pavilion	Stanford, Calif.	Stanford

All roads from the preliminary rounds will lead to Nashville, site of the 2014 NCAA Women’s Final Four to be played April 6 and 8 at Bridgestone Arena.