In less than a month, Indianapolis will be hosting its ninth Men’s College Basketball National Championship.
According to a study by Unwind Media in 2024, Indianapolis was the city in America most obsessed with March Madness, so it’s easy to see why it is commonly picked as the hosting city.
Between the 11 statewide Division I programs, the many historic venues which have hosted tournament games, and the memorable games played in March, there is no shortage of March excitement across the state.
How It Started
The first Men’s College Basketball National Championship was held in 1939. It didn’t take long after the first tournament for the state of Indiana to get involved.
The following year, Indiana hosted its first March Madness games. The year 1940 may ring a bell to Hoosier fans, as it was the year Indiana University hung one of its five National Championship banners in men’s basketball. That year, IU played Springfield College and Duquesne University in the Eastern Regional semifinals and finals on the campus of Butler University at Butler Fieldhouse, now Hinkle Fieldhouse, before beating the University of Kansas in the national championship in Kansas City.
A lot has changed since that 1940 tournament. The bracket has expanded from eight to 68 teams, qualifying rules have been amended, and powerhouses have wavered. But Indiana as a hosting state has remained a constant.
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The Venues
There have been 12 different venues in Indiana which have hosted March Madness games. The only state with more is Texas with 13.
Those 12 venues cover the entire state, from Evansville to South Bend. The old RCA Dome in downtown Indianapolis leads the way with 60 games hosted between 1987-2006 and ranks sixth all time across the country. The RCA Dome was home to four National Championships, which also ranks sixth across the country.
Lucas Oil Stadium has taken over as the premier hosting venue since the RCA Dome’s demolition in 2008 and has already hosted three National Championships (2010, ‘15, ‘21). With two more scheduled this year and in 2029, it will surpass the RCA Dome.
Other Indiana venues which have hosted March Madness games include Assembly Hall in Bloomington (1977, ‘79, 2021), Roberts Municipal Stadium in Evansville (1983), Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne (1953, ‘54, ‘56), Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (2021), Market Square Arena in Indianapolis (1978, ‘82), Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis (2021), Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (2017, ‘21, ‘22, ‘24), Joyce Center in South Bend (1971, ‘76, ‘85, ‘88), Hulman Center in Terre Haute (1974), and Mackey Arena in West Lafayette (1980, 2021).
Historic Games
When recounting the most historic March Madness games played in Indiana, many point to the 2010 National Championship. The title game paired national powerhouse Duke University against the hometown Butler University Bulldogs.
Butler, led by Brownsburg native and future NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward, found themselves in an evenly matched affair. With just 3.6 seconds remaining, Duke, leading by two points, intentionally missed a free throw. Hayward got the rebound, took four dribbles and heaved a half-court shot that banked off the backboard, hit the rim, and narrowly missed as time expired. Butler’s Cinderella story, coupled with playing in front of its home Indianapolis crowd and against the juggernauts of Duke, made for not only one of the most memorable games in Indiana, but one of the most memorable games in college basketball history.
Former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s dominant run actually began in Indianapolis, as its first title won under Coach K was in Indianapolis in 1991. Christian Laettner, considered one of the best college basketball players of all time, was Final Four MVP after scoring 18 points and securing 10 rebounds in the Blue Devils’ 72-65 victory over Kansas.
A more recent memorable game was in 2015, when undefeated Kentucky, with future NBA stars Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns as well as Indianapolis native Trey Lyles, strolled into town with a 38-0 record. Threatening to unseat Bobby Knight’s 1976 Indiana Hoosiers as the most recent undefeated national champion, the Wisconsin Badgers pulled off the upset 71-64 inside Lucas Oil Stadium before losing to Duke in the title game, 68-63.
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Will 2026 be another year in which Duke cuts down the nets in Indianapolis? There’s reason to believe in this year’s top-ranked Blue Devils; three of the program’s five national titles have come in the Circle City.
The 2021 Bubble
Indiana’s March Madness history may have climaxed in 2021. While the country was still in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic, the NCAA needed a solution to hosting March Madness with as little travel and outside exposure as possible. Hence, the idea emerged: host the entire tournament in one state.
That state was Indiana.
Teams were housed in Indianapolis and bused to the host venues which included Mackey Arena, Assembly Hall, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum and Lucas Oil Stadium.
It is the only NCAA Tournament in history exclusively held in one state.
Women’s March Madness
Indiana has also hosted three Women’s NCAA National Championships since its inception in 1982. Those years were 2005 (RCA Dome), 2011 (Conseco Fieldhouse), and 2016 (Bankers Life Fieldhouse).
The 2005 Final Four is historic, as it is ranked second all time in women’s college basketball attendance with 28,937 tickets sold for each of the Final Four and National Championship sessions.
2011 was a memorable season for the state as well, as Notre Dame, led by South Bend native Skylar Diggins, made the National Championship before losing to Texas A&M 76-70.
Indiana will continue to dig its roots in the blossoming women’s college basketball scene, as it is set to host the 2028 Final Four and National Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium.