SAN ANTONIO — ‘Unique’ is the word for this year’s men’s and women’s NCAA Basketball Tournaments. And nobody knows the ladies side quite like San Antonio Sports. They are, once again, hosting an NCAA Tournament, and this year, they are essentially hosting all of it.
"Everybody is anxious, just about the different format, but I just keep saying bring it on! We will pull it off," said Vice President Jenny Carnes. The discussions began last summer and came into focus late last calendar year.
"It's coming at us in a pace that is just so different than years past," Carnes added.
As usual, the city has stepped up as one of the ultimate destination spots in the country. The tournament will be contested between San Antonio, San Marcos and Austin with games at the Alamodome, UTSA, Saint Mary’s University, Texas State and the University of Texas.
Considering that Roadrunner, Bobcat and Rattlers athletics would never get host consideration in "normal" years, these are opportunities of the lifetime.
"We’ve been the institutional host for over twenty, so to finally have it on campus at a UTSA facility is really special," said Director Of Athletics, Lisa Campos.
"Just to get ten games for the institution is wonderful," said Saint Mary’s AD Robert Coleman. "The arena has held up well over the last fifteen years, and we have kept it in great shape. It should off really well on television."
With geography being the key element in executing the men’s and women’s tournament, the cities of San Marcos and Austin have stepped up to do their parts.
Athletic administrations at Texas State and The University Of Texas suspected they would be asked to host games at their arenas once they saw what the men’s tournament was doing in and around the state of Indiana.
"What are logical places to play?" asked UT Director Of Athletics Chris Del Conte. "We are very close to San Antonio so we knew just based on the footprint of what we saw happen in Indianapolis."
Texas State AD Larry Teis added thoughts as well. "We kind of figured we’d be right there in the mix, and the NCAA did contact us. They did their homework on us. They have done their due diligence."
Teams begin arriving midweek with practices starting on Thursday.