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The University of Iowa and Carver-Hawkeye Arena have been selected by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee to serve as one of 16 first and second round hosts for the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.

The Committee announced in the summer of 2007 that the championship would be expanding to 16 pre-determined first and second round sites beginning in 2009. Additional cities chosen to host first and second round games in 2009 include: Iowa City, IA; Bowling Green, KY; Chattanooga, TN; East Lansing, MI; Notre Dame, IN; San Diego, CA; Seattle, WA and Storrs, CT. A total of three Big Ten institutions will host first and second rounds in 2009 (Iowa, Michigan State and Ohio State).

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championship in 2009,” said Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder. “This will give our Iowa fans a great opportunity to witness the national tournament first hand. It has been a long time since Iowa has hosted the NCAA Championship and we are excited to bring the competition and atmosphere back to Carver Hawkeye Arena!”

“The committee was pleased with the amount of interest generated when we announced that we were going to 16 pre-determined sites again in 2009 and 2010,” said Judy Southard, senior associate director of athletics at Louisiana State University and chair of the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee. “To be able to get a good blend of cities that have past-hosting experience in combination with a number of new cities and venues is good for the continued growth of the game of women’s basketball and our championship.”

hawk central | Hawkeye Basketball, Women's