| Gainbridge Fieldhouse will host the Division III men's basketball championship game in 2026 and likely host the women's title game in 2028. |
The Division III men’s basketball championship game will stay in Indiana for 2026, but it’ll be played farther south as part of a larger event.
The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee approved Indianapolis as the host site for the 2026 Division III national championship game as part of a joint event that includes the Division I Final Four, the Division II championship game, and the NIT semifinals and final.
The Division III title game will be played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday, April 5. The Division II title game will also be played that same day at the 18,000-seat home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers and WNBA’s Indiana Fever.
The full schedule is:
- Thursday, April 2: National Invitational Tournament (NIT) semifinals played at Hinkle Fieldhouse
- Saturday, April 4: Division I Final Four played at Lucas Oil Stadium
- Sunday, April 5: D-III and D-II title games played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
- Sunday, April 5: NIT final played at a site TBD
- Monday, April 6: D-I title game played at Lucas Oil Stadium
This is the second time that the Division III men’s title game will be held as part of a joint championship weekend, but the first in more than a decade. The 2013 Division III title game was played in Atlanta in a similar lineup to the 2026 slate.
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This is also the second time that Gainbridge Fieldhouse will host a joint basketball championship. It was the site of the Division I, II and III women’s basketball championship games in 2016.
Since the Division III men’s basketball tournament traditionally ends before the Division I tournament is complete, the joint championship event will likely alter the schedule for the Division III playoffs.
In 2013, the NCAA held the men’s quarterfinals and semifinals in Salem, Virginia and then advanced Amherst and Mary Hardin-Baylor to the title game played in Atlanta two weeks later.
The Division III Women’s Tournament Committee took a different tact when there were joint championships in 2016 and 2023. They kept the usual format for the tournament’s first two weekends, then played the semifinals at a predetermined neutral site, and then held the national championship two weeks later.
Fort Wayne, which is about two hours north of Indianapolis, will host the 2025 Division III men’s championship weekend, just as it has each year since 2019.
Looking farther out, Indianapolis will also be the joint host for the Division I, II and III women’s national championship games in 2028. Final approval for that event by the governing bodies in Division II and Division III is pending but expected.
The ODAC and City of Salem, Virginia will host the 2025 Division III women’s basketball championship weekend at Roanoke College.