INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly 4½ years after losing the opportunity to host the 2020 Men’s Final Four due to a global pandemic, Atlanta is back on the clock to stage one of the world’s premier sporting events after the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee selected the city to host the 2031 Men’s Final Four. The event will take place April 5 and 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
It will mark the fifth time Atlanta has hosted the event. The Final Four first took place there in 1977, when Al McGuire’s Marquette team beat North Carolina in the championship game in front of just over 16,000 fans at the Omni Coliseum. A quarter century later, Maryland won its lone national title, beating Indiana in front of more than 52,000 fans at the Georgia Dome. That same facility hosted the 2007 Final Four, which featured Florida winning the second of its back-to-back titles, and the 2013 event, which saw Louisville edge Michigan in front of a then-record crowd of 74,326. An even larger crowd is expected seven years from now, when Atlanta joins Kansas City, Indianapolis, New York, Louisville, New Orleans, Seattle and San Antonio as the only cities to host at least five Final Fours.
“The cancellation of the 2020 tournament, including the Men’s Final Four in Atlanta, was a necessary yet devastating decision for student-athletes, coaches and fans. It significantly impacted the Association and its membership, as well as the city of Atlanta, which has repeatedly been a terrific host to the event,” said Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball. “The committee has been empathetic in its consideration of replacing the 2020 Men’s Final Four for Atlanta, and ultimately the city competed favorably and won the opportunity to host again at long last in 2031. We are looking forward to working with the Atlanta team to provide another memorable Men’s Final Four experience.”
This will not be the final site selection announcement of the year, as the preliminary round sites for the 2027 and 2028 Division I Men’s Basketball Championships will be revealed in early October as part of the NCAA’s multichampionships announcement for dozens of men’s and women’s sports across all three divisions.
Previously announced Men’s Final Four hosts include San Antonio in 2025, Indianapolis in 2026 and 2029, Detroit in 2027, Las Vegas in 2028 and North Texas in 2030.
