SIOUX FALLS S.D. (KELO ) — There was some excitement and some disappointment for the Sioux Falls Sports Authority (SFSA) Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the NCAA announced Augustana University will host a 2028 Men’s Ice Hockey Regional at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
The NCAA chose over 240 host sites for preliminary and final rounds of predetermined championships across Divisions I, II and III, primarily for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. This cycle marked a shift from a four-year to a two-year site selection process.
Thomas Lee, SFSA Executive Director, said they are exited and grateful to be hosting Division I Men’s Ice Hockey again.
“Its a day for celebration anytime you can host any NCAA championship, let alone a D-I Ice Hockey Regional, which is so successful here, we are really happy,” Lee said. “We aren’t worried about the percentages, we knew we weren’t gonna win 5 or 6 bids.”
Lee said while they didn’t get every bid that they wanted they are still happy with the result.
“We are hosting volleyball and wrestling coming up, those were previously awarded to us so its not surprising we weren’t named in 2027 or 2028 to host those two events so soon again,” Lee said. “We were really hoping for a basketball event and while that’s a little disappointing, hosting and being awarded D-I Men’s Ice Hockey is really a day for happiness.”
Sioux Falls has previously hosted a number of NCAA D-I and D-II championship events, including a regional round of the NCAA D-I women’s basketball tournament in 2016. In addition to the hockey regionals, Sioux Falls is home to the NCAA 2024 D-II women’s volleyball championship and the 2026 D-II wrestling championship.
In previous years, the number of full-service hotels for teams has hindered Sioux Falls’ chances of landing more men’s and women’s basketball tournament games. Lee said while Sioux Falls is putting or best foot forward in the bidding process but the city just isn’t there yet.
Other similar-sized communities like Dayton, Ohio, Omaha, Nebraska, Des Moines, Iowa and Tulsa, Oklahoma will host NCAA men’s basketball tournament games.
“If we can have 2 or 3 more full-service hotels that would really increase our chances, certainly doesn’t guarantee anything, but increases our chances for getting closer to winning a DI Men’s or DI Women’s March Madness type basketball event,” said Lee.
Lee said they are hoping additions to the city will increase their chances.
“They have 8 teams that come to town and each of those teams needs a full-service hotel, but with The Canopy and maybe a few other projects that are coming down the line, future bid cycles might put us in a better light with the NCAA if we have those full-service hotels to boast about.
The Canopy is a full-service hotel that will be apart of Sioux Falls Steel District that is expected to be completed later this year.
Lee said the city of Sioux Falls is a great place to host events, but the competition for hosting events is fierce.
“We’ve got venues, we are easy to get to, our airports great. I think its just the competition that’s out there, there are so many city’s that also have great venues and great hotels that are bidding on these events,” Lee said. “You have 60 city’s bidding on potentially bidding on any of the events I just said and you can only award 2 of them.”
The NCAA received more than 1,200 bids from member schools, conferences, cities and sports commissions across 47 states and Washington, D.C.
