WASHINGTON – Georgetown University was selected to serve as the host for the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball NCAA Regional Championship at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., it was announced by the NCAA on Wednesday afternoon.

"We are excited to serve as co-hosts for the 2026 NCAA Regional Championship with our partners at Capital One Arena," said Francis X. Rienzo Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Lee Reed. "March Madness is a special time in our Nation's Capital and we are excited to showcase the city and the arena as we welcome these teams on the road to a championship."

This is the eighth time the NCAA Tournament will return to the District since 1998 and it will be the seventh time Georgetown has served as the host at Capital One Arena. Georgetown has served as the host for first and second round events in 2002, 2008 and 2011 and hosted the regional finals in 2006, 2013 and 2019.

"As a Hoya and Chairman & CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns and operates Capital One Arena, I couldn't be more thrilled to see the return of NCAA Men's Basketball back in the District," said Ted Leonsis. "As the road to the championship will come through DC, we know that the athletes and sports fans from around the region and around the country will be treated to an extraordinary experience as they watch some of the most exciting games in all of sports."

Washington, D.C., will join Chicago (Northwestern); Houston (Houston) and San Jose, California (San Jose State) as sites for the regional semifinals and finals.

Dayton will be the site of the First Four with the University of Dayton serving as the host. The eight cities that will host the First and Second Rounds are Buffalo, New York (MAAC); Greenville, South Carolina (Furman); Tampa, Florida (USF); Oklahoma City (Big 12); Philadelphia (St. Joe's); Portland (Oregon State); San Diego (San Diego State) and St. Louis (Missouri Valley Conference).

The Final Four will be held on April 4 and 6 in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium. It will be the city's ninth championship following hosting in April 2021.

For only the third time in its history, the NCAA undertook a site selection process where most of its championships were put out for bid at the same time.

This resulted in the NCAA making more than 450 selections of host sites for preliminary rounds and final sites of predetermined championships in Divisions I, II and III, with most to be held from 2022-23 through 2025-26.

The NCAA received more than 3,000 bid submissions from NCAA member schools, conferences, sports commissions and cities vying to host predetermined rounds for 86 of the NCAA's 90 championships. The sites were selected by the respective NCAA sports committees and approved by the divisional competition oversight and championships committees.