Sioux Falls, SD (KELO AM and KWSN) - The Summit League basketball tournaments won’t be going anywhere for the next seven years. The NCAA Division I conference and Sioux Falls Sports Authority have exercised an extension of their current agreement to keep the Men’s and Women’s tourneys at the Denny Sanford Premier Center until 2022, making it the longest agreement the league has had with one city for the marquee events.
Summit League commissioner Tom Douple told KWSN’s SportsTalk with Craig and Chris that the partnership has blown away the league’s expectations since the first tournament was held at the Sioux Falls Arena in 2009. “[in Tulsa] our men’s tournament was competitive, our attendance was on par with the first three years of the tournament in Sioux Falls. The difference is we weren’t drawing as much in our women’s tournament.” Following the addition of SDSU, USD, and NDSU in the late 2000’s Douple said it was time to look for a new location for the tournament, and that’s when Sioux Falls stepped in. “We felt the Arena could probably do a decent job, but they did more than that. With the attendance, enthusiasm, and so forth; we’ve grown every year in the last seven years."
That growth could continue now that Nebraska-Omaha has become eligible for the tournament, however the addition of the Mavericks also brought some rumors that Sioux Falls could lose the event to Omaha. Wes Hall with the Sioux Falls Sports Authority admitted it was in the back of his mind, however when it came down to it the argument was black and white. “When we sat down with Tom, we just kind of laid it out; look what we’ve done over the past seven years, look what we can do over the next seven. It’s a great match for both parties.”
The list of NCAA events that Sioux Falls is set to host this winter is impressive to say the least. Augustana University will kick everything off by hosting the NCAA Division II Wrestling regionals beginning February 27th at the Elman Center. That will be followed by March staples such as the NSIC Men’s and Women’s hoops tournaments, Summit League tournaments, and high school basketball tournaments at the Sanford Pentagon and PREMIER Center, respectively. The NCAA Division II Wrestling national championships will also make their debut in Sioux Falls March 11th at the Denny. All of that will lead up to the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Elite Eight at the Pentagon and an NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Regional at the PREMIER Center.
Hall says despite that list, the Sports Authority is continuing to look at other events that could call Sioux Falls home, including the NCAA Division I Hockey tournament. Hall called the road to the Frozen Four the next growth area for his group. “[The] Stampede’s been a great success, and I think the NCAA and some of these Division I teams in our region have taken notice. It’s something that’s on our radar, we’ll do our due diligence and see if it’s a good fit for our community.”