NCAA picks Lexington as 2013 site

Lexington will be among the sites for the historic 2013 NCAA Tournament.

That year will mark the 75th anniversary of the NCAA Tournament. To commemorate the occasion, the Men’s Basketball Committee selected sites that had a historical significance to the tournament. Or as a NCAA news release on Monday put it, the sites had “great tournament moments.”

Lexington, which will play host to first- and second-round play, was where Villanova upset Georgetown in the memorable 1985 NCAA Tournament championship game.

The University of Kentucky cannot play in the Lexington rounds. If a team plays more than three games in an arena during the season, the team cannot play in that arena during the tournament rounds.

Kentucky figures in another of the 2013 sites. Another of the first- and second-round sites is Philadelphia, where UK lost to Duke in the 1992 East Region final, the so-called Christian Laettner game.

The NCAA released the sites for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 tournaments. Louisville was selected as a first- and second-round site for the 2012 NCAA Tournament. That will mark the 13th time Louisville has been a host city, and the first time since 1991.

Here’s a portion of the news release dealing with 2013:

Recognizing that 2013 is the 75th anniversary of the championship, the committee selected venues and cities which have served as the backdrop to great tournament moments such as North Carolina’s triple-overtime win in the 1957 championship game in Kansas City, Villanova’s upset of Georgetown in Lexington in the 1985 title game, the Duke-Kentucky classic in the 1992 East Regional final in Philadelphia, and hundreds of other plays, players and games that are deep-seated in tournament history.
Auburn Hills, Austin, Dayton, Kansas City, Lexington, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, and San Jose were selected to host first- and second-rounds, and Indianapolis, Los Angeles and North Texas were chosen for the regional rounds. Auburn Hills and San Jose both earned bids for the fourth time since 1997, while Austin was selected for the sixth time since 1981. Los Angeles has hosted the championship 11 times, including two Final Fours, but has not served as a host city since 1994, while North Texas will prepare for the 2014 Final Four with a regional at Cowboys Stadium.
Kansas City, which has served as host to 28 tournaments, including 10 Final Fours, was also selected for 2013. With Indianapolis, Lexington, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City and Final Four host Atlanta having each staged more than 75 tournament games, the 2013 championship will feature seven of the top nine cities for most tournament games hosted of all time.
Dayton, which has hosted the opening round game since its inception in 2001 and will do so through 2013, has hosted 23 times in the tournament’s history. One regional site will remain unnamed while details are being finalized.
The 2013 Final Four will be played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia.
“It’s no accident that cities which have been part of the rich history of this championship were selected to return in 2013,” said Dan Guerrero, the athletic director at UCLA and chairman of the Men’s Basketball Committee. “The 2013 championship will be a nationwide celebration of ‘March Madness,’ its tremendous history and the fan following of one the world’s best sporting events.”