USCAA and Visit Buffalo Agree on Basketball National Championship Extension through 2028
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The United States Collegiate Athletic Association is excited to announce the extension of Buffalo, New York as the host city for Basketball National Championships through 2028.
About 2,000 visitors are expected to spend an estimated $2 million as they stay in local hotels and take in the region’s offerings like professional Buffalo Sabres hockey games, the newly reopened Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the unique local culinary scene with its purveyors of the classic, original Buffalo chicken wings. In the past, Erie County saw a hotel occupancy – up 14.2% the week USCAA was hosted in Buffalo as a direct result of the tournament.
The championships, held in March of 2027 and 2028, will be organized by the USCAA National Office and the Buffalo Sports Commission. The tournaments will draw an estimated 1,000 visiting fans and will include about 800 players on 36 teams representing schools from multiple states.
“We are excited to extend our partnership with the USCAA and welcome student-athletes, coaches, and fans from all over the country back to Buffalo through 2028. This championship not only highlights our city’s exceptional sports venues but also offers visitors the chance to experience the vibrant energy of downtown, our world-renowned cultural attractions, and, of course, the original Buffalo wing,” said Buffalo Sports Commission CEO and President Patrick Kaler. “The influence is tangible, more than thirty teams from across the nation calling Buffalo home for eight nights creates an atmosphere of energy and excitement that resonates throughout our community, and we look forward to building on that momentum in the years ahead.”
Bryant & Stratton College’s Buffalo campus and Villa Maria College, both USCAA members, will also help organize the tournament.
“We are thrilled to extend the Basketball Small College National Championships in Buffalo,” said USCAA CEO BJ Bertges. “The support from the Buffalo Sports Commission, Visit Buffalo, and our co-host member institutions—Villa Maria College and Bryant & Stratton Buffalo—has made this one of our most successful championship events. We look forward to building on that success in the years to come.”
Most of the tournament will be held at the 2,700-seat arena SUNY Erie Community College’s Burt Flickinger Athletic Center, built for the 1993 World University Games.
Villa Maria College, home of the Vikings, will also serve as hosts, its campus and athletic center in Cheektowaga, a suburb on Buffalo’s southern border. The school has newly renovated gyms, a modern weight and exercise room and a training center.
About The USCAA
The USCAA, based in Pittsburgh, is a national governing body that exists to provide opportunities for small colleges to compete against like institutions for National Championships and student-athlete recognition. The 77-member association was founded in 2001 as a reformation of the National Small College Athletic Association.
About Visit Buffalo
Visit Buffalo sells and markets its assets and attractions to visitors outside of the Buffalo region as a convention, tourism, and leisure destination for the economic benefit of the community.