SRU lands Division II Festival; will host 12 NCAA events between 2018-20

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Future NCAA Championships

April 19, 2017

INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA announced April 18 that Slippery Rock University had been selected as the host institution for the 2018 Division II Fall Festival, along with the 2019 Division II men's and women's soccer national championships and the 2018 and 2020 Atlantic Regional cross country championships. SRU will co-host with SportsPITTSBURGH, the sports branch of Visit Pittsburgh, to stage most of the championship events in the city.

"We're very excited that the joint bid between SRU and SportsPITTSBURGH was chosen by the NCAA to host these 12 events," said Paul Lueken, SRU director of athletics. "We are very much looking forward to bringing these great championships to western Pennsylvania and being able to showcase Slippery Rock University and the wonderful city of Pittsburgh on the national stage. We are also looking forward to being able to show the people of Pittsburgh and our region, how great Division II championship events are."

As part of the 2018 Fall Festival, SRU and SportsPITTSBURGH will serve as the hosts for the Division II men's and women's soccer, women's field hockey, women's volleyball and men's and women's cross country national championships. All events will take place between Nov. 25 and Dec. 1, 2018.

SRU will host the 2018 Atlantic Regional and National Championships in cross country at its home course at Cooper's Lake Campground, which last hosted the national meet in 2008. The Rock will also host the 2020 Atlantic Regional meet at Cooper's Lake. The course at Cooper's Lake was also announced as the host site for the 2019 Division III regional meet and the 2020 Division III National Championships, which will be hosted by Carnegie Mellon University.

In addition to the 2018 championship events, SRU and SportsPITTSBURGH were selected to host the 2019 Division II men's and women's soccer national championships.

The 2018 and 2019 soccer championships will be played at Highmark Stadium in Station Square, the home of the United Soccer League's Pittsburgh Riverhounds. The 2018 field hockey and volleyball championships will be played at a venue yet to be named.

Pittsburgh was awarded a total of 22 preliminary and finals rounds of NCAA championship events, the most of any city in the country. In addition to the Division II events SRU will host, the city was also awarded the 2019 Division I wrestling and women's volleyball championships, the 2021 men's Division I Frozen Four ice hockey tournament and the first and second rounds of the 2022 Division I men's basketball tournament. All those events will take place at PPG Paints Arena, the home of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins.

The complete list of NCAA events that SRU and SportsPITTSBURGH were selected to host, include:

  • 2018 Men's Soccer National Championships, Highmark Stadium, Nov. 25-Dec. 1, 2018;
  • 2018 Women's Soccer National Championships, Highmark Stadium, Nov. 25-Dec. 1, 2018;
  • 2018 Women's Field Hockey National Championships, site to be announced, Nov. 25-Dec. 1, 2018;
  • 2018 Women's Volleyball National Championships, site to be announced, Nov. 25-Dec. 1, 2018;
  • 2018 Men's Cross Country National Championships, Cooper's Lake Campground, Dec. 1, 2018;
  • 2018 Women's Cross Country National Championships, Cooper's Lake Campground, Dec. 1, 2018;
  • 2018 Men's Cross Country Atlantic Regional, Cooper's Lake Campground, Dec. 17, 2018;
  • 2018 Women's Cross Country Atlantic Regional, Cooper's Lake Campground, Dec. 17, 2018;
  • 2019 Men's Soccer National Championships, Highmark Stadium, Dec. 5-7, 2019;
  • 2019 Women's Soccer National Championships, Highmark Stadium, Dec. 5-7, 2019;
  • 2020 Men's Cross Country Atlantic Regional, Cooper's Lake Campground, Nov. 7, 2020; and
  • 2020 Women's Cross Country Atlantic Regional, Cooper's Lake Campground, Nov. 7, 2020


MEDIA CONTACT: Jon Holtz | 724.738.4925 | jonathan.holtz@sru.edu

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