UND, Scheels Arena to host another NCAA men’s hockey regional in 2017

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced today that it has selected the University of North Dakota to host the 2017 NCAA Men’s Hockey West Regional Championship at Scheels Arena in Fargo. It will be the second time over a three-year span in which UND and Scheels Arena have hosted the event, after having hosted the 2015 NCAA West Regional.

The sites were selected by the respective sport committees, which are made up of coaches and administrators from NCAA member schools and conferences, and approved by the appropriate divisional championships cabinets/committees.

“We are honored and excited to have been awarded the 2017 NCAA Men’s West Regional,” said UND Director of Athletics Brian Faison. “This hosting opportunity is the result of a great team effort partnering UND with Ralph Engelstad Arena and Scheels Arena.”

The 2015 NCAA West Regional at Scheels Arena was a resounding success, playing to a sold-out venue for all three games and featuring a field that included host UND, Michigan Tech, Quinnipiac and St. Cloud State. Top-seeded UND advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four with 4-1 victories over Quinnipiac and St. Cloud State.

“We are confident that another NCAA Men’s Hockey West Region Tournament will be another great success in Fargo,” said Ralph Engelstad Arena general manager Jody Hodgson. “Scheels Arena provides a great off-campus location for a regional tournament and the staff at Scheels Arena did a great job with the 2015 event. We look forward to the regional tournament returning to North Dakota.”

“Scheels Arena is honored to be selected again as the host site for the 2017 NCAA West Regional,” said Scheels Arena General Manager Jon Kram. “We feel our site portrays what a NCAA championship event should look and feel like. The arena staff is thrilled to host an atmosphere the participating programs, fans and media will remember for a long time, as well as recreate the experience student-athletes want -- to play in front of a capacity crowd. With the expansion of Scheels Arena to a two-sheet facility, set to be completed in the spring of 2016, we see opportunities to better the overall fan experience during the multi-day event. Everyone involved will go above and beyond to insure, once again, that this is one of the best sites for a NCAA men’s ice hockey regional.”

The East Regional has been awarded to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. and will be hosted by Brown University on March 24-25, while the Northeast Regional will be held at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H. with the University of New Hampshire serving as host on March 25-26. The Midwest Regional will be hosted by Miami University (Ohio) and be held at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati on March 25-26.

Ticket information, including on-sale dates and pricing, will be announced at a later date.