Final Four, Big Easy Style

In a news media briefing on the Tulane uptown campus, the NCAA and the New Orleans Local Organizing Committee on Tuesday (Nov. 9) unveiled the logo for the 2012 Final Four, the 74th championship in the event's history and the fifth time it will be played at the Louisiana Superdome.

New Orleans has a long history of hosting the men's basketball championship — 2012 will mark the 70th anniversary of the first time the city served as a tournament host. Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse at Tulane was the site of the 1942 Eastern Regional. Tulane will serve as the host institution for the 2012 Final Four.

This Final Four will be the 13th time the championship will come to New Orleans, including the third consecutive year that championship rounds will be held in the city.

Members of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee, including current chair Gene Smith, director of athletics at Ohio State University, and 2011-12 chair Jeff Hathaway, director of athletics at the University of Connecticut, attended the logo unveiling ceremony at the Wilson Center at Tulane.

They were joined by Tulane athletics director Rick Dickson and members of the New Orleans Local Organizing Committee, including chair and Tulane alumnus John Koerner.

Smith said, “It's wonderful for the city to be able to host this event, as well as the 2013 Women's Final Four, to assist in the ongoing recovery efforts” after Hurricane Katrina.

The 2012 Final Four will begin on March 31 with two national semifinals games, followed by the national championship game on April 2. Fans hoping for a chance to receive tickets to the 2012 Final Four can apply for the NCAA's random selection process, which takes place online between March 21 and May 31, 2011. Tickets are still available for the 2011 Southeast Regional, to be held at the New Orleans Arena.