Philadelphia to host 2027 NCAA women’s basketball tournament regional games

The NCAA women’s basketball tournament’s regional rounds are coming to the Wells Fargo Center in 2027.

It will be the first time Philadelphia has hosted regional games in the women’s tournament since 2011, when the Liacouras Center was the venue and Connecticut topped the marquee. Temple’s arena also hosted in 2005, when Pat Summitt-coached Tennessee and C. Vivian Stringer’s Rutgers came to town.

The 2011 games were the last time the area hosted any NCAA women’s tournament games until Maddy Siegrist’s Villanova squad earned early-round home games in 2023.

Though the Wells Fargo Center has hosted many NCAA men’s tournament games, the only women’s tournament games it has hosted were the 2000 Final Four. Those games lived long in the memory, with UConn, Tennessee, Rutgers, and Penn State playing here.

Sue Bird and Shea Ralph’s Huskies beat Tamika Catchings’ Lady Vols in the title game, 71-52. It might have been closer had Tennessee’s Philadelphia-area native, Kristen “Ace” Clement, a Cardinal O’Hara grad, not missed the game because of an ankle injury suffered in practice that morning.

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In 2027, the headline player could be Notre Dame’s South Jersey-born point guard, Hannah Hidalgo. The Paul VI graduate was a first-team All-American as a freshman last season, was the No. 6 scorer in the nation, led the way in steals, and was the Atlantic Coast Conference’s defensive player of the year and rookie of the year. Three years from now, she’ll be capping her senior season.

St. Joseph’s will be the host institution for the games here, along with PHL Sports. Hawks athletic director Jill Bodensteiner is on the NCAA Division I women’s basketball committee but recused herself from the voting process because of Philadelphia’s bid. She didn’t know until Wednesday morning that the bid had succeeded.

“I think we put together a fantastic bid, with the student-athlete experience and the fan experience at the center of it,” Bodensteiner told The Inquirer. “I think the history of basketball in Philadelphia, and having previously hosted several women’s events and a Final Four, there’s proof that we can do it. … I feel like all of that — the great city, the great arena and staff, our recent experience — really kind of put us over the top.”

Since 2021, the NCAA has had two regional-round sites for its Division I women’s basketball tournament instead of four, with each site hosting two bracket quadrants’ worth of games. Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena will be the other host in 2027, which should appeal to fans of the WNBA’s Aces — and likely to fans of Southern Cal, since JuJu Watkins also will be a senior that spring.

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In 2028, the host sites will be the NBA arenas in Washington and Portland, Ore. Portland hosted regionals this year and will host the Final Four in 2030. Other Final Four sites include Tampa, Fla. (2025), Phoenix (2026), Columbus, Ohio (2027), Indianapolis (2028), San Antonio, Texas (2029), and Dallas (2031).

Next year’s sites are Birmingham, Ala., and Spokane, Wash., and the 2026 sites are Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif.

“I think the results that we’ve seen in the last few years of the women’s basketball tournament have helped everybody, from the bidding entities to the NCAA and members who serve on the committees understand that the time is right for large cities with large arenas,” Bodensteiner said. “The packed crowds in Albany [last season] were fantastic, but let’s see if we can do bigger, and more, and host in NBA-caliber arenas.”

She added that the NCAA also wanted big cities that are “able to handle the massive influx of fans who have really grabbed on to women’s college basketball.”

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One can’t know now if the local effort to bring a WNBA team here will have succeeded or failed by then. But if somehow the WNBA hasn’t decided at that point, Bodensteiner said she’ll be happy if big crowds for the college games help prove local interest in women’s basketball.

“I would absolutely love for Philadelphia to have a WNBA team, and I think it’s a logical and great selection for the next city,” she said. “So anything we can do to show how much Philadelphia gets behind women’s sports, I think is fantastic, and that’ll certainly be top of mind for me as the athletic director of the host school.”

The NCAA also announced all the men’s Division I basketball tournament sites for 2027 and 2028. Philadelphia didn’t get any games, but the Wells Fargo Center is already set to host first- and second-round action in 2026. (It also will host the Division I wrestling championship in 2025.)

Providence, R.I., and Newark, N.J., are the closest sites to here next year, and Washington hosts the closest regional in 2026. Pittsburgh and New York’s Madison Square Garden are the closest sites in 2027, and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and Raleigh, N.C., are the closest sites in 2028.

Many site selections for other sports were also announced Wednesday, and Philadelphia got nods in lacrosse. The men’s Final Four weekend — encompassing Division I, II, and III — will return to Lincoln Financial Field in 2027, and Subaru Park will host the women’s Division I Final Four in 2027 and 2028.

It will be the ninth time that the Eagles’ home hosts the men’s weekend and the fourth time that the Union’s home hosts the women’s weekend.

Also of note, Allentown’s PPL Center will host a men’s ice hockey regional in 2028, Lehigh will host a cross-country regional in 2026, Penn State will host one in 2027, and Penn State will host the national fencing and men’s gymnastics finals in 2028. In Division III, York College will host the baseball finals in 2027 and 2028 at a minor league stadium in town.