Wichita will be one of two sites for the opening round of the newly expanded NCAA Tournament, the selection committee confirmed, bringing early March games and visiting teams to INTRUST Bank Arena.
What changes for Wichita residents
The tournament now fields 76 teams, and the opening round has been split between Dayton, Ohio, and Wichita, Kansas. INTRUST Bank Arena — the city’s largest indoor venue — is slated to host six games and can accommodate up to 15,000 fans for those sessions.
Games scheduled for Wichita will include automatic qualifiers — typically the No. 16 and No. 15 seeds — and some of the final at-large teams selected to the field. That mix means a combination of small-conference champions and bubble teams could play in front of local fans.
Why Wichita was selected
Reporters covering the selection process cited Wichita’s central location in the Plains and an established local college-basketball audience as key factors. As CBS writer Matt Norlander noted during coverage, other Midwestern cities were among the contenders before the committee settled on Dayton and Wichita.
Norlander reported that Des Moines, Iowa, and “other cities west of the Mississippi” were in the running before Wichita was the pick.
INTRUST Bank Arena is not new to hosting NCAA Tournament games. The venue handled first- and second-round games in recent editions of the tournament, including 2018 and 2025, and Wichita has been a tournament site intermittently dating back to the 1950s.
Local impacts and logistics
Residents can expect increased hotel and restaurant demand during the opening-round window, plus additional traffic near the arena on game days. The events will also require coordination among arena staff, local public safety agencies and tourism officials to manage crowds and transportation.
- Venue: INTRUST Bank Arena (capacity about 15,000)
- Number of games in Wichita: Six opening-round games
- Teams involved: Automatic qualifiers (No. 16 and No. 15 seeds) and the final at-large teams
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tournament size | 76 teams |
| Wichita games | 6 |
| Arena capacity | ~15,000 |
Local organizers and business leaders have previously highlighted the tourism and economic benefits of hosting NCAA games. Time will tell how the expanded tournament alters those returns and whether mid-major programs ultimately gain or lose opportunities under the new format.
Fans and observers are already debating the move online and in comment threads: was Wichita the right choice to share the opening round with Dayton? The committee’s decision guarantees Wichita a role in early-round March competition and sends fans from across the region to the River City for tournament play.
