Budweiser Events Center at The Ranch Awarded NCAA DI Men’s Ice Hockey West Tournaments

The Budweiser Events Center at The Ranch in Loveland has been awarded the NCAA DI Men’s Ice Hockey West Regional Tournament for 2022 and 2026.

This is the third time this specific NCAA championship bid process which spans over 86 championships in a four-year cycle. This is also the largest host site announcement ever made, with the previous selection announcements having varied by sport.

Bidding for the 86 if the 9- NCAA championships started in August of last year with over 3,000 bid applications being submitted. This process now gives the NCAA and host sites additional time to plan each championship experience.

 Championships that will be hosted at Denver University and the Budweiser Events Center at The Ranch are as follows:

• 2021 Division I Men’s Ice Hockey West Regional
• 2022 Division I Men’s Ice Hockey West Regional
• 2026 Division I Men’s Ice Hockey West Regional

Each sport committee in each division has selected the host sites that it believed would provide the best experience for the respective student-athletes, ultimately resulting in over 400 total championship event sites being awarded. Over 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships every year.

“We are honored that the NCAA would choose to award us two additional NCAA DI Men’s Ice Hockey West Regional tournaments for both 2022 and 2026,” said Keller Taylor, Spectra District General Manager of the Budweiser Events Center at The Ranch. “It speaks volumes about the hard work of Denver University, the Colorado Eagles, and the Budweiser Events Center staff that we have been selected to host four of these championships over the course of the next seven years,” Keller said.

The award of the West Regional tournaments was made possible with support and commitment from Denver University. The Colorado Eagles of the AHL have also played a large role as a partner and tenant of the Budweiser Events Center at The Ranch in the culture and support of hockey within Northern Colorado. The City of Loveland and Larimer County have also played a critical role in the NCAA tournaments’ procurement.

“The award of these tournaments to The Ranch and the Budweiser Events Center reflects the dedication of our staff, the University of Denver, the Colorado Eagles and our local partners,” said Campus Director at The Ranch Events Complex, Chris Ashby. “We’re proud to host a collegiate competition of this level and look forward to the opportunity it will most certainly bring our community,” Chris said.

For more information regarding the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championships, visit: ncaa.com/frozenfour