Minneapolis (Feb. 19, 2020) — One month from today, the biggest wrestling weekend of the year is coming to Minneapolis and more fans than ever will have a chance to take it all in. On March 19-21, Sports Minneapolis, powered by Meet Minneapolis, U.S. Bank Stadium and the University of Minnesota will host the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. At U.S. Bank Stadium, 330 wrestlers from across the country will compete in front of the largest audience to ever attend the NCAA Wrestling Championships. In addition to the tournament, a free Fan Festival will take place on March 20-21 at the Armory.
Following are five things to know about the upcoming 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
1. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be held in a stadium for the first time.
Moving from an arena to a stadium for the first time in its history, there is an unprecedented opportunity for additional fans to witness the preeminent event in collegiate wrestling. More tickets are available than ever before with a chance for fans to surpass the all-time collegiate wrestling attendance record of 42,287 set during the Oklahoma State-Iowa dual match at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium on Nov. 14, 2015.
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2. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships have had 10 consecutive sellouts. Since the 2010 championships in Omaha, Neb, the event has sold out arenas around the country, including Madison Square Garden in New York, Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia and Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The current NCAA Wrestling Championships attendance records were set during the 2018 event in Cleveland when a total of 113,743 fans attended over six sessions, including 19,776 for the championship finals.
3. A free Fan Festival takes over the Armory just two blocks from U.S. Bank Stadium. On March 20-21, fans can watch Team USA wrestlers practice, attend autograph sessions and a coaches clinic, buy wrestling memorabilia, and take part in an NCAA semifinals preview show. Free and open to the public, the Fan Festival will be an added food and beverage outlet for wrestling fans between sessions. For a full schedule of events at the NCAA Fan Festival, go to www.ncaa.com/championships/wrestling/d1/fan-fest.
4. Minneapolis is hosting the championships for the first time in 24 years. The event returns to Minneapolis for the second time ever and the first time since the University of Minnesota hosted the 1996 championships. Iowa claimed the national title over runner-up Iowa State, while Cal State Bakersfield, Penn State and Nebraska rounded out the top five.
5. A 330-man tournament will be conducted in 10 weight classes (125 pounds, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165, 174, 184, 197 and heavyweight) to crown individual national champions. The top eight finishers in the double-elimination format will be honored as All-Americans. Wrestlers also accumulate points for their institution with every win as they advance through the bracket to decide the team national champion. Wrestlers will compete in seven-minute matches and will advance through six different competition sessions with the individual national championship matches occurring on Saturday evening, March 21.
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BONUS: For the first time in recent NCAA Wrestling Championships history, single-session tickets are available to the public, including locations in the lower level of U.S. Bank Stadium. For more information or to buy tickets for the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, go to NCAA.com/Wrestling.
ABOUT SPORTS MINNEAPOLIS
Sports Minneapolis leads the region in bidding, winning and executing major professional and amateur sporting events that impact the city of Minneapolis and beyond. Sports Minneapolis, a division within Meet Minneapolis, has played a major role in securing events such as the Super Bowl, NCAA Men’s Final Four, Major League Baseball All-Star Game, USA Girls’ Jr. Volleyball, CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer, X Games and more. Amateur and professional sports events increase visitor spending and tax revenue that benefits the local community.
Sports Minneapolis and its partners, including the University of Minnesota, have secured upcoming NCAA championships and major events, such as the 2020 Division I Wrestling Championships, the 2021 Division I Men’s Gymnastics Championships, and the 2021 Division I Men’s Basketball Regional, In addition, Sports Minneapolis and its partners will be the local organizing committee for the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Final Four.
