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Dayton, Ohio, you have company.
The NCAA selection committee announced last week that the newly expanded NCAA Tournament – featuring 76 teams now – will have its opening round split in two locations: Dayton and Wichita, Kan.
Friend of MMM Matt Norlander at CBS reported that Des Moines, Iowa, and “other cities west of the Mississippi” were in the running before Wichita was the pick. INTRUST Bank Arena, the biggest arena in the City of Wichita, will play host to a max capacity of 15,000 fans. Six games will be played in Dayton, six in Wichita, as part of the expanded opening round. The sites will host automatic qualifiers (No. 16 and No. 15 seeds) and at-large candidates (the final eight at-large teams selected to the field).
Norlander reported that Wichita’s centralized location in the midwest/great plains was a major draw, in addition to the city’s local college hoops fanbase.
INTRUST Bank Arena is no stranger to NCAA Tournament games. The venue hosted the first and second rounds back in 2018 and 2025. Wichita has welcomed March Madness to town several other times, dating back to 1956.
We’ve covered expansion as a topic, one that is highly debated about its merits. Time will tell if our precious mid-major schools will benefit or the bigger schools get extra slots in the Big Dance.
Now, we must ask: Was Wichita the right choice?
Sound off. If you disagree, let us know in the comments or yell at us on Twitter/X or Bluesky.
