Sept. 21, 2009

WASHINGTON - Georgetown University and Verizon Center will once again serve as a host site for the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, announced today by the NCAA offices.

The Georgetown Department of Athletics and Verizon Center will serve as hosts for the First & Second rounds of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship on Thursday, March 17 and Saturday, March 19.

The announcement of the Washington, D.C. selection was one of several as the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee announced sites for the championships from 2001-13, the 75th Anniversary of the event.

Other first round hosts in 2011 include Tulsa, Okla., Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Tampa and Tuscon.

Regional sites for 2011 are Anaheim, which will host for the fifth time since 1998; San Antonio, which has hosted seven times in the past 13 years; Newark, N.J., which will host for the first time in the city's history; and New Orleans, which has hosted 10 times previously.

The 2011 Final Four will be played in Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Ticket information will be released at a later date.

This is the third time that Georgetown has hosted the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship since 2006 and the fourth time that Verizon Center has hosted since 2002, when George Mason served as the host. The Hoyas and Verizon Center served as host for the NCAA Men's Basketball Regional rounds in 2006 and then served as hosts for the first and second rounds of the tournament in 2008.