Memphis to Host 2014 NCAA South Regional

The University of Memphis has been named the host of the 2014 Division I Men's Basketball Championships' South Regional, the NCAA announced on Monday. The regional will be played at FedExForum March 27-29, 2014.

Twenty-five preliminary round sites for the 2014 and 2015 Division I Men's Basketball Championships, as well as the 2014 Division II and Division III Men's Basketball Championships, were announced Monday to serve as hosts for the NCAA men's basketball tournaments. cThe 25 cities hosting portions of the 76th and 77th Division I Men's Basketball Championship have combined to host nearly 1,000 tournament games in the event's history, including Madison Square Garden in New York.

The University of Memphis will play host to an NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship event for the sixth time and the first since the 2009 South Regional was played at FedExForum in 2009.

Memphis also played host to the 1984 Midwest First and Second Rounds games in 1984 at the Mid-South Coliseum as well as the 1995 and 1997 Southeast Regional First and Second Rounds and the 2001 South Regional First and Second Rounds at The Pyramid.

"We are delighted to have been selected as a host site for the 2014 NCAA Region Finals," said Memphis Athletics Director Tom Bowen. "The University has served as a host site on numerous occasions for both conference and NCAA events. With a world-class facility in FedExForum and the veteran staff we have in the Memphis athletic department, I am sure that teams selected to come to Memphis will have a great experience."

The NCAA South Regional will be one of two regionals with BIG EAST Conference ties in 2014. In addition to Memphis playing host to the NCAA South Regional in its first year as a member of the conference, St. John's University will co-host the 2014 NCAA East Regional with the BIG EAST Conference at Madison Square Garden.

A host to 71 tournament games between 1943 and 1961, Madison Square Garden will play host to the event for the first time in 53 years.

"The bid process was as competitive as ever, with 53 cities expressing the desire to be a part of one of the world's premier sporting events," NCAA vice president of men's basketball Dan Gavitt said. "We are thrilled for our hosts for the '14 and '15 tournaments, as they include a mix of cities that have proven over the course of several decades how to stage this great event, as well as cities that have come on to the scene in recent years and have embraced the tournament.

"And we are excited about the tournament returning to the world's most famous arena. Only three arenas have hosted more tournament games than Madison Square Garden, despite it being more than five decades since the last time it hosted. That gives you a great sense of the historical significance of bringing the tournament back there."