FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FORT WAYNE, IN – Tuesday, March 18th teams arrive in Fort Wayne, Indiana for the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championships held on March 20 & 22 at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Fort Wayne welcomes and congratulates New York University, Trinity College, Washington University, and Wesleyan University! This week's events include a team community service project on Wednesday, the Semifinal games on Thursday, an NABC All-Star game on Saturday, and the Championship game on Saturday – all at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

This is the fifth and final time for Fort Wayne to host the Championship game since the 2018 bid award in partnership with Visit Fort Wayne, the Memorial Coliseum, and Manchester University. In 2026, Fort Wayne will still host the Division III Men's Basketball Quarterfinal and Semifinal Games ahead of the Championship in Indianapolis.

Game schedule:

Semifinals - Thursday, March 20
- Game 1: 5:32 pm | Wesleyan vs. Trinity
- Game 2: 8:00 pm (30-minutes after end of Game 1) | NYU vs. WashU

National Championship - Saturday, March 22
- NABC Reese's Division III All-Star Game: 12:30 pm
- National Championship Game: 4:02 pm

Tickets are available online here and at the Memorial Coliseum ticket office.

Hosting these NCAA events has brought prestige to our community, and helped usher in the opportunities to host future events including the Division II Men's and Women's basketball championships in 2027 and 2028. They have helped build our profile as a sports tourism destination, and have had an overall economic impact of $5.6 million.

Help us in celebrating and welcoming this event and its athletes and fans to Fort Wayne!

Community Service:

This Wednesday, March 19th, the semifinal teams will take part in a community service project, led by Visit Fort Wayne, to assemble care kits to be distributed to clients of Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana. This project is made possible by Bankers Advertising & Promotions, CK Promos LLC, PHP, and Visit Fort Wayne. Media is welcome to stop by the Memorial Coliseum (Red Room) during the below community service times. Media will have the opportunity to interview the teams and staff, NCAA Committee Members, Visit Fort Wayne representatives, and guest speakers from Cancer Services.

10:10 AM - 10:50 AM
12:30 PM - 1:10 PM
2:40 PM – 3:20 PM
3:50 PM - 4:30 PM

For additional information or media interviews, please contact:

Nicolle Campbell, Visit Fort Wayne, Director of Sales
Nicolle@VisitFortWayne.com
(260) 424-3700

Nathan Dennison, Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Vice President of Sales
NDennison@MemorialColiseum.com
(260) 482-9502

Grace Schott, Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Assistant Commissioner/Senior Woman Administrator
swa@heartlandconf.org
(317) 708-1232

John Alesi, NCAA, Committee Chair,
John.Alesi@Baruch.Cuny.edu
(646) 312-5064

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Visit Fort Wayne, the Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention and Visitors Bureau, is the not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to expand Fort Wayne's economy by attracting convention and leisure visitors. Each year, millions of dollars from visitor spending generate increased commerce, sustained jobs and enhancement of Fort Wayne's Image.