Buoyed by superstars like Caitlin Clark, JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers, women’s college basketball has exploded in popularity nationally in recent years.
This week, the NCAA showed just how big one of its marquee sports has gotten.
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College sports’ governing body announced on Tuesday, Sept. 30 that the Final Four of the 2028 NCAA women’s basketball tournament will be moving to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The event had originally been scheduled to be held at nearby Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the home arena of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers and the WNBA’s Indiana Fever.
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It’s a move that transcends the 0.7 miles that separate the two venues in downtown Indianapolis. By moving to Lucas Oil Stadium, the event will gain approximately 13,000 extra seats, according to the NCAA.
“Moving the 2028 Women’s Final Four to Lucas Oil Stadium will allow for more access for our fans, and it represents the continued growth of the sport,” Amanda Braun, the chair of the NCAA Division I women’s basketball committee, said in a statement. “With the interest we have seen, holding the Women’s Final Four in a larger venue in Indianapolis is a natural next step.”
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It will mark the first time the women’s Final Four has been played in a football stadium since 2005, when it was held at the since-demolished RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
The decision comes after the women’s Final Four has been played in front of sold-out crowds in recent years in basketball arenas. In 2024, the average price paid for a women’s Final Four ticket on the secondary market was double the price of a men’s Final Four ticket that year.
The NCAA also announced that it will continue with its current preliminary round format for the NCAA women’s basketball tournament through at least the 2030-31 season.
Unlike the men’s tournament, where all games are held at neutral sites, the first two rounds of the women’s tournament are held at nonpredetermined campus sites, at the arena of choice of the 16 highest-seeded teams in the field. The NCAA said that setup has been effective in increasing attendance and fan engagement in the early rounds, noting that the past three tournaments have recorded the three highest attendance figures for the first and second rounds in NCAA tournament history.
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The NCAA added 85% of respondents in a survey of athletic directors, conference officials and coaches supported the existing early round structure.
“We reviewed alternatives to the First Four, first- and second-round format and the regional format, and the data supports keeping our current model,” Braun said in a statement. “This will continue to be a point of discussion for the committee as we look to serve tournament participants and fans in the best possible way.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Women’s Final Four moving to Lucas Oil Stadium in 2028
