TCU basketball awaits its March Madness fate. Where will the Frogs play?
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March Madness in Fort Worth
Dickies Arena will be a host of the men’s NCAA March Madness tournament. Here’s everything you need to know.
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Dickies Arena prepares to roll out red carpet for NCAA tournament
Arrival of NCAA Tournament is start of Fort Worth’s bid to be a bigger sports market
TCU basketball awaits its March Madness fate. Where will the Frogs play?
Between tipoffs, here’s where to hold court & try Fort Worth barbecue, Tex-Mex, wings
Now that it looks like a March Madness berth has all but been secured, it’s time for the TCU men’s basketball team to pack its bags because the squad will not be staying home in Fort Worth.
The Horned Frogs will find out their destination on Selection Sunday. Fort Worth would be convenient, of course, but TCU is the host school for the Fort Worth Regional at Dickies Arena and the NCAA has a policy that host schools aren’t allowed to play at that respective site.
So TCU and their fans will experience March Madness elsewhere. No destination is within reasonable driving distance as every site is at least 900 miles away. But here would be the three most desirable sites for TCU:
San Diego
Any reason to go to San Diego is usually a good one. And, for TCU, the Southern California area is filled with alumni and prospective students. TCU has seen a rise of enrollment from Southern California residents since its Rose Bowl victory to cap the 2010 football season.
This would be a nice draw for the alumni who live on the West Coast, and for fans looking for a reason to book a beach vacation.
Pittsburgh
No, it doesn’t have the warm weather and beaches that San Diego would provide. But Pittsburgh is a great sports town with a lively downtown scene.
Plus, TCU coach Jamie Dixon returning to Pittsburgh is the type of story line the selection committee sometimes goes for. Dixon spent 13 years as Pitt’s head coach before returning to his alma mater TCU. His career record there is 328-123 and he guided the Panthers to 11 NCAA Tournaments with the deepest run being an Elite Eight in 2009.
Greenville, South Carolina
This is only the ninth time in TCU’s history to reach the NCAA Tournament. The Frogs have won five games in the Big Dance. The last victory?
The 1987 tournament when TCU defeated Marshall at Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dixon was on that team, scoring 11 points to help the Frogs win 76-60. Two days later, TCU was knocked out by Notre Dame.
A return trip to the Carolinas wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for TCU given its basketball history.
▪ The other four first- and second-round sites for this year’s tournament are Buffalo, New York; Indianapolis; Milwaukee and Portland., Oregon.
