NCAAS RETURNING TO VIEJAS IN 2026
The NCAA apparently is pleased with Viejas Arena as a host site for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
It essentially said as much Wednesday, continuing Viejas Arena’s four-year rotation for six games on the tournament’s opening weekend in 2026. It will be the sixth time the 23-year-old venue has hosted the tournament, including previously announced dates in 2022.
It also hosted in 2001, 2006, 2014 and 2018.
The NCAA announced more than 450 locations of preliminary and championship events between the 2022-23 and 2025-26 seasons. USD was awarded the 2024 men’s golf regionals at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe. UC San Diego will get the 2024 men’s and 2026 women’s water polo championships on campus at Canyonview Aquatic Center.
After what was then called Cox Arena hosted the 2001 and 2006 basketball tournaments, the NCAA raised its minimum seating capacity to 12,000. The arena officially holds 12,414, but that was lowered into the mid-11,000s when seats were subtracted for media, bands, television and other event-specific reasons.
That also eliminated several other viable West Coast venues, however, and former SDSU Athletic Director Jim Sterk lobbied the NCAA to reconsider. The minimum was lowered to 10,000 in 2012, and Viejas returned to the mix in 2014. It has been selected every four years since.
The NCAA did not announce specific dates for the 2026 f irst and second rounds. For 2018 and 2022, Viejas received the more favorable Friday-Sunday games where fans have to miss a day less of work. There are four games the first day, then two over the weekend. The winners advance to the Sweet 16.
About 25 percent of the sites announced Wednesday, or more than 100 total, went to states currently banned by California universities and other public agencies for travel using taxpayer dollars. AB 1887, enacted in 2017, prohibits the use of public funds for travel to places with what it deems discriminatory laws. Twelve states currently are on the banned list.
Texas received 30 NCAA events, and North Carolina got 28. Also on the list are Alabama (11 events), Kentucky (11), Oklahoma (eight), Tennessee (eight), South Carolina (seven), Iowa (five), Kansas (five) and South Dakota (four). Idaho and Mississippi received no events.
Athletic departments at California public universities typically use “private funding ” as an accounting loophole to pay for trips to NCAA championships in banned states.
This was the first time the NCAA site selection process had been conducted since the organization reversed its position on bringing events to states with legalized sports betting. Nevada got 11 events, including a men’s basketball regional in 2023 and the men’s hockey Frozen Four in 2026 at TMobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The last time an NCAA event was in Las Vegas? A women’s basketball regional at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, in 1991.
Wetzell returns to Australia
Few people may have logged more international air miles over the last six months than Yanni Wetzell. The former SDSU forward returned to his native New Zealand in June, then signed with a team in Australia, then exercised a clause in his contract allowing him to move to Riesen Ludwigsburg in Germany’s top division.
Now he’s returning to the South East Melbourne Phoenix in Australia’s National Basketball League that is scheduled to open in January instead of October.
“It was a very difficult decision for me to leave in the f irst place,” Wetzell said in a club release. “The initial exit was so professional. They were super supportive and said they loved creating the relationship with me and they would support me and my journey.”
Wetzell had an up-anddown stint at Ludwigsburg, which is just outside Stuttgart and reached the German championship last season. He went from not making a shot in one preseason game to finishing with 17 points and 15 rebounds in the next to heading back to Australia.
“Part of being seen as a destination club for players is helping them grow and develop,” Phoenix CEO Tommy Greer said in the release. “It’s hard when they leave, but being true to our values means sometimes you welcome them back.”
Wetzell wasn’t the only member of last season’s SDSU roster at Ludwigsburg. Guard KJ Feagin was invited for a trial earlier this month. He appeared in one preseason game, injured a hamstring and was released.
ALS Walk
The 20th annual ALS Walk that Aztecs basketball players and coaches regularly attend in support of assistant Mark Fisher will be held as a virtual event this year. Participants will be asked to walk on their own Sunday in a socially distanced manner without geographical or time restrictions and solicit donations with a goal of raising $300,000. The walk at Mission Bay’s De Anza Cove usually attracts 2,000 people. More information is available at alsasd.org.