In the months leading up to the NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments, the regular season is played at hundreds of venues scattered across the country.
Some of these are architectural masterpieces, while many are simple rectangles or boxes designed for the sole purpose of hosting athletic events.
Then there are coliseums that stand out for their unusual shapes, sharply angled walls and roofs, and otherwise strange appearances. Below are 15 current and former U.S. college basketball arenas that show off the property type’s wide range of architectural styles.
While none of the featured arenas are scheduled to host games in either the men’s or women’s tournaments that get underway this week, they have all hosted countless games played by the collegiate teams that call the venues home. Many have been frequent hosts of regional conference tournaments, like the Norfolk Scope, which has hosted the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament for years.
For the Big Dance, as the men’s NCAA tournament is nicknamed, the early rounds are played around the country in places like San Diego, California; St. Louis, Missouri; and Dayton, Ohio. The Final Four this year is scheduled for April 4-6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The women’s tournament is also played at various venues nationwide, and its Final Four is slated for April 3-5 at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.