The road to the 2021 Final Four goes through Denver, as the Mountain West Conference announced earlier this week that the Pepsi Center will be the host site for the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s West Regional.
The event marks the first time in history that the Pepsi Center will host a regional round and is the first time time Denver has hosted a regional round since 1989 at McNichols Arena.
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In total, it will be sixth NCAA Championship event hosted by the Mountain West in Denver. Most recently, Denver hosted the men’s first and second rounds of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The city also hosted the first two rounds of the men’s tournament in 2004, 2008 and 2011.
In 2012, the women’s Final Four came to the mile high city and for only the second time in history, all four No. 1 seeds reached the semifinals. Baylor would ultimately defeat Notre Dame 80-61 for the national championship.
Along with Denver, the NCAA has announced that fellow Mountain West members Boise State and San Diego State will also serve as one of the eight future host sites.
Boise State will host the First and Second Rounds on March 18 and 20, 2021 at Taco Bell Arena. San Diego State will host First and Second Rounds on March 18 and 20, 2022 at Viejas Arena. Both cities were already previously announced as host sites for the opening rounds of the 2018 tournament.
Collegian sports director Justin Michael can be reached by email at sports@collegian.com or Twitter @JustinTMichael.
