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Women's Final Four May Return

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By JOEY JOHNSTON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 5, 2008

Tampa officially submitted its bid Wednesday to host another Women's Final Four basketball tournament, and local organizers are optimistic the event will return.

"We received nothing but great feedback," said Rob Higgins, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, which submitted the bid with the St. Pete Times Forum and the University of South Florida. "We think we provided a great experience for the student-athletes, and that's the top priority for the NCAA. We'd love to have it back."

The NCAA accepted Women's Final Four bids for 2012-16, though Tampa cannot host in 2012 because of its commitment to the NCAA Frozen Four hockey tournament.

Tampa was among six previous host cities to bid, joining Cleveland, Indianapolis, Kansas City, New Orleans, Philadelphia and San Antonio. Other cities to bid were Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Denver; Houston and Nashville, Tenn.

Finalists will be named in August, followed by site visits in September and October. The sites will be awarded in November by the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee.

Higgins said Tampa also will pursue NCAA men's basketball early-round games and regionals when those events are available for bid.

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