March Madness returns to DC in 2026 originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
March Madness is returning to Washington D.C. when the NCAA Tournament comes back to town for the 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament. The games will be played at Capital One Arena where Georgetown University will be co-hosting the event.
This selection will mark the eighth time that the men's tournament made a stop at the nation's capital since 1998. Most recently, the tournament was selected as a Regional location for the 2019 NCAA Tournament where Michigan State earned a berth to the Final Four. The seven-year gap between the two tournaments marks the longest time without the sport's championship event to have a portion of it held in D.C.
DC is one of four Regional sites for the 2026 tournament with Chicago (Northwestern), Houston (Houston) and San Jose, California (San Jose State) as the other host sites. The Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight matchups will be played at these venues and each determines one of the participants in the Final Four.
This announcement was released as the NCAA unveiled several host sites for a multitude of sports across all three divisions for championships from 2022-23 through 2025-26.
