The University of Louisville and the KFC Yum! Center will be a host site for an NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Regional in 2016.
The NCAA’s South Regional will be held Thursday, March 24 and Saturday, March 26 at the Yum Center, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee announced Monday.
It will mark the first time Louisville has hosted an NCAA Regional since 1987. That year a young up-and-coming coach named Rick Pitino guided Cinderella Providence to the regional title - beating powerhouse Georgetown in the Elite Eight - at Freedom Hall.
This will be the third time that UofL and the Yum! Center will play hosts to NCAA Tournament games.
They will host second- and third-round NCAA Tournament games this season, after doing so in 2012. The Cardinals’ archrival, the University of Kentucky, played here then on its way to winning the title that season. It’s also a good bet that the preseason No. 1 Wildcats will play here again on Thursday, March 19 and Saturday, March 21 of 2015.
UK, if it is a No. 1 seed, would likely be assigned to the Louisville Regional in 2016. The Cards, however, won’t be since a school can not play regional games on its homecourt.
Further information, including ticket availability, for the 2016 Regional will be announced at a later date. The complete list of sites is available here.
Photo courtesy University of Louisville Men’s Basketball Facebook Page
