INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- The City of Salem has long been touted as "Virginia's Championship City" for its history of hosting NCAA championship events in conjunction with the ODAC. There will be plenty of additional evidence to back up that moniker over the next half-decade.
For the third time in its history, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) conducted a site selection process where most of its championships were put out to bid at the same time. The Association announced more than 450 host sites for preliminary round and final site predetermined championships for all divisions on Wednesday afternoon, covering a four-year period beginnning in the fall of 2022.
The ODAC along with member schools Ferrum College, Roanoke College, and Washington and Lee University as well as hosting partners the Greensboro Aquatic Center and the City of Salem will host 23 Division III championships thru Spring 2026. That is in addition to five championships already slated for Spring 2021 and Spring 22, bringing the final tally to 28 ODAC-involved championships over the next five-plus years.
The City of Salem tacks on an additional championship to its ledger with previously scheduled Division II women's lacrosse championship slated for Spring 2022.
ODAC-involved championships will feature in 12 different sports. Those include women's basketball (x2), field hockey, football, women's lacrosse (x2), men's soccer (x3), women's soccer (x3), softball (x2), men's swimming & diving (x3), women's swimming & diving (x3), men's volleyball, women's volleyball, and wrestling. Only men's volleyball is new to the ODAC and its ranks. A full listing with years associated is posted at the bottom of this release.
RELATED: Official NCAA Championship Announcements Release
The announcement of the new set of championship hosts returns to the Salem the one that started it all -- the Stagg Bowl. The Division III Football Championship enjoyed a 25-year stay in Virginia's Blue Ridge starting in 1993. That contest, a 34-24 victory for then Mount Union College (now University of Mount Union) over Rowan University marked the first of what is currently 90 NCAA championships conducted in the City of Salem. The football championship returns to Salem Stadium in 2023 under historic fanfare as that event will mark the 50th Stagg Bowl.
"The Stagg Bowl is coming home for its 50th game in 2023," explained Carey Harveycutter, the Director of Tourism for the City of Salem as well as the Tournament Manager for all Salem-based NCAA championships past and future. "I could not be more pleased that the NCAA selected Salem in Virginia's Blue Ridge to be the host of so many upcoming championships. To have already hosted 90 events is a source of great pride personally and also for our city. Collectively, we look forward to welcoming all participants and showing them a first class championship experience."
Of the ODAC's three member schools directly involved in hosting championships, Roanoke College will be the busiest. The Maroons' Cregger Center was already slated to serve as host venue of the 2021 Division III women's basketball semifinals and championship as well as the 2021 and 2022 Division III women's lacrosse final series at Kerr Stadium. Roanoke bolsters its hosting resumé with championship events in six sports: women's basketball in 2025 and 2026; women's lacrosse in 2023 and 2024; men's soccer and women's soccer in 2022, 2023, and 2025; women's volleyball in 2024; and men's volleyball in 2025. The ODAC and City of Salem will co-host for all of those events.
For the second time in its history, Ferrum College will host the Division III wrestling championships. The Panthers previously conducted the event in 2019 prior to joining the ODAC. They will again welcome the nation's best to the Berglund Center in Roanoke in 2023.
Division III field hockey will call Lexington home for a fourth time in 2022 as the sport takes to Washington and Lee's Turf Field. The Generals previously hosted the event in 2005 as well as back-to-back in 2014 and 2015.
"ODAC member institutions have developed a rich tradition of hosting Division III championships in previous years, affording us continued opportunities to showcase our conference on the national stage," stated ODAC Commissioner Brad Bankston. "The strong relationships between our members and their communities are key pieces to hosting successful championships and providing the memorable experiences all student-athletes and coaches deserve at a national event."
The ODAC and Salem will also rekindle their engagement with the Division III softball final series in 2024 and 2026 in addition to the previously scheduled championships in 2021 and 2022. The James I. Moyer Sports Complex in Salem is the host for those four events. It was also the venue for 12 Division III trophies handed out between 1994 and 2016 and 13 Division II crowns between 1995 and 2018.
The remaining three championships on the docket feature men's and women's swimming and diving. The ODAC and the Greensboro Aquatic Center will parter to host three years each of those events in 2023, 2024, and 2025. They previously combined to host those championships in 2016 and 2019 and were slated to do so again in 2020 before the event was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.
RELATED: List of Upcoming and Previous Championships Hosted by the ODAC and Member Schools
The NCAA received more than 3,000 bid submissions from NCAA member schools, conferences, sports commissions, and cities vying to host predetermined rounds for 86 of the NCAA's 90 championships. A total of 450 sites were awarded for this cycle. The sites were selected by the respective NCAA sports committees and approved by the divisional competition oversight and championships committees.
For more information on all of the NCAA championship sites awarded, log on to www.ncaa.com.
UPCOMING NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIPS | Previously Scheduled
Women's Basketball (1): hosted by ODAC/Salem/Roanoke College at the Cregger Center in 2021
Women's Lacrosse (2): hosted by the ODAC/Salem/Roanoke College at Kerr Stadium in 2021 and 2022
Softball (2): hosted by the ODAC/Salem in 2021 and 2022
UPCOMING NCAA DIVISION III CHAMPIONSHIPS | Announced on October 14, 2020
Women's Basketball (2): hosted by ODAC/Salem/Roanoke College at the Cregger Center in 2025 and 2026
Field Hockey (1): hosted by Washington and Lee University at Turf Field in 2022
Football (1): hosted by ODAC/Salem at Salem Stadium in 2023
Women's Lacrosse (2): hosted by ODAC/Salem/Roanoke College at Kerr Stadium in 2023 and 2024
Men's Soccer (3): hosted by ODAC/Salem/Roanoke College at Kerr Stadium in 2022, 2023, and 2025
Women's Soccer (3): hosted by ODAC/Salem/Roanoke College at Kerr Stadium in 2022, 2023, and 2025
Softball (2): hosted by the ODAC/Salem at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex in 2024 and 2026
Men's Swimming (3): hosted by ODAC/Greensboro Aquatic Center at the GAC in 2023, 2024, and 2025
Women's Swimming (3): hosted by ODAC/Greensboro Aquatic Center at the GAC in 2023, 2024, and 2025
Men's Volleyball (1): hosted by ODAC/Salem/Roanoke College at Cregger Center in 2025
Women's Volleyball (1): hosted by ODAC/Salem/Roanoke College at Cregger Center in 2024
Wrestling (1): hosted by Ferrum College at the Berglund Center in 2023