FORT WAYNE, IN – On Monday, March 11 we kick off celebrations by Painting the Town Blue for the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship week (March 11-16). On Monday, eight Fort Wayne structures and facilities will change their exterior lighting to NCAA Blue to Paint the Town Blue in celebration of the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball final four teams heading to Fort Wayne. Best viewing times of these blue displays will be Monday morning and evening.
Participating structures/facilities include:
- Lincoln Tower
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Bridge
- Rousseau Centre
- Turnstone Digital Board
- Parkview Field Digital Board
- Parkview Physicians Group ArtsLab
- Fort Wayne Visitors Center
- Memorial Coliseum Digital Board
The public is invited to pick up a free cookie and take a picture with the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball trophy at the Fort Wayne Visitors Center from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Monday, March 11.
Celebrations continue throughout the week with the arrival of teams on Tuesday (Hampden-Sydney College, Guilford College, Trine University, and Trinity College), a community service project on Wednesday, the Semifinal game on Thursday, and the Championship game on Saturday – all at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
On Wednesday, March 13th, the final four teams will take part in a community service day, led by Visit Fort Wayne, to assemble dental kits to be distributed to local families and children through McMillen Health and Vincent Village. This project is made possible by Visit Fort Wayne, PHP, and Isaac Knapp Dental Foundation. Media is welcome to stop by the Memorial Coliseum (Red Room) during the below Community Service times. Media will be able to interview the teams and staff, NCAA Committee Members, and guest speakers from McMillen Health and Vincent Village.
- 10:10 AM - 10:50 AM
- 12:30 PM - 1:10 PM
- 2:10 PM - 2:50 PM
- 3:50 PM - 4:30 PM
Game schedule:
Semifinals - Thursday, March 14
Game 1: 5:30 pm | Hampden-Sydney vs. Guilford
Game 2: 8:00 pm | Trine vs. Trinity
National Championship - Saturday, March 16
NABC Reese's Division III All-Star Game: 12:30 pm
National Championship Game: 4:00 pm
The NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Semifinals and Championship games will be held on March 14th and 16th at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Tickets are available at NCAATickets.com.
Hosting an NCAA event brings prestige to our community, helps build our profile as a sports tourism destination, and has had an average economic impact of $660,000. Help us in celebrating and welcome this event and its athletes and fans to Fort Wayne!
Host Facility Addresses:
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
4000 Parnell Avenue
Fort Wayne, IN 46805
Fort Wayne Visitors Center
927 S. Harrison Street
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
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Contacts:
Luke Flockerzi, NCAA Committee Chair,
lflockerzi@sports.rochester.edu or (585) 275-4306
Nicolle Campbell, Director of Sales at Visit Fort Wayne,
emilyh@visitfortwayne.com or (260) 424-3700
Nathan Dennison, Vice President of Sales at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum,
NDennison@memorialcoliseum.com or (260) 482-9502
Tami Hoagland, Athletics Office Manager at Manchester University,
tlhoagland@manchester.edu or (260) 982-5390
Media Contact:
Nicolle Campbell
Director of Sales
Visit Fort Wayne
(260) 424-3700
nicolle@visitfortwayne.com
Visit Fort Wayne, is the official destination marketing organization for Fort Wayne and Allen County. Each year, over 8.8 million people visit Fort Wayne and generate $995 million in direct economic impact.
Visit Fort Wayne promotes the city and county as an exceptional destination, and leads the growth and development of the visitor experience.