Capital University to Serve as Home of Division III Women’s Basketball National Semifinal
-Story by Capital Sports Information
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Capital University and Crusaders Athletics are proud to announce that the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship semifinals will be hosted inside The Capital Center. The NCAA has granted hosting rights to Capital for this year's national semifinals, which will be held on March 19, 2016.
The NCAA has voted that this year the women's basketball finals for all three divisions will be hosted in one location, Indianapolis, Indiana. The move will help commemorate the 35th anniversary of the NCAA Women's Basketball Championships. Leading to the Division I, II and III national championship games will be a path of neutral-site host institutions that will create "The Road to Indy". The first four rounds of games will be held on campus sites. The national semifinals will still be held at a predetermined site, as they have been since 1999.
Members of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Committee agreed that the thriving city of Columbus and an eager Capital University are fitting places to host one of the largest women's basketball events of the year.
"Speaking on behalf of the NCAA and the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Committee, we are excited to be headed to Columbus this coming March," said Kelly Whitaker, NCAA assistant director of championships. "We are pleased how the staff at Capital and the community of Columbus are embracing women's basketball."
Capital women's head basketball coach Dixie Jeffers has been at the forefront of this process, working with the Greater Columbus Sports Commission to advocate that Columbus is an excellent choice to serve as a host for this year's national tournament.
"We at Capital feel extremely fortunate to be awarded the bid to host and are extremely excited for this remarkable opportunity," said Jeffers. "This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase how good the play of Division III women's basketball is."
The announcement does not only guarantee NCAA Tournament women's basketball in 2016, but marks a three-year agreement between the NCAA and the City of Columbus to feature championship caliber basketball.
Linda Shetina Logan, executive director of the Greater Columbus Sports Commission said, "We are excited to join Capital University in this celebration of women's basketball. The Division III women's basketball championship tips off three years of NCAA women's basketball in Columbus – followed by the Division II Elite Eight in 2017 and the Women's Final Four in 2018."
Capital University has been chosen to host both Division III national semifinal games, which will be played on Saturday, March 19, 2016 inside The Capital Center on the Performance Arena floor. This will mark the first time the national semifinal will pass through Columbus since Capital won its back-to-back national championships during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons, teams Jeffers headed herself.
Being named the host institution of an event of this magnitude does not simply mean you open the doors to the best four Division III women's basketball teams in the country. The job includes incredible amounts of planning for banquets, practice times, accommodations, media and fan outreach, community service project planning, as well as post-event ceremonies for the two teams moving on to play in the national championship. These responsibilities are already deep in the planning phases and their execution spans over a three-day timeframe, from March 18-20.
Whether or not Jeffers and the nationally-ranked Crusaders women's basketball team are playing in the very games they are hosting will not affect the level of excitement that will be generated inside The Capital Center. Last year, two teams with perfect 32-0 overall records met in the title tilt. Undisputed No. 1-ranked Thomas More College (Ky.) took on No. 4/3 George Fox University (Ore.) in Grand Rapids, Mich. where the Saints defeated the Bruins, 83-63.