Evansville officials celebrate record-setting March Madness
Officials state Evansville hosted 33 collegiate basketball games across four championship tournaments in March at the Ford Center.
A few highlights include:
The Ohio Valley Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships returning to Evansville for its eighth straight year
The Missouri Valley Conference Women's Basketball tournament was played in Evansville for the first time
The NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Elite Eight returned to the Ford Center, broadcasted live on CBS.
Officials say March also marked a first of its kind distinction for the River City: home to both the first and final automatic bids to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
'To be the city that launches and closes the NCAA Women's Tournament ticket punching is something incredibly special,' said Brandon McClish, Executive Director of the Evansville Regional Sports Commission. 'It's a testament to the strength of our partnerships, the dedication of our volunteers, and the unwavering commitment of our community. What we achieved this March shows the world what Evansville can do—and we're just getting started.'
Officials estimate the tournaments generated an approximate $1.4 million in economic impact for the region, driving nearly 4,000 nights booked in local hotels and bringing fans, teams and media from across the country into the heart of the city.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
NFL Reporter Laura Rutledge Reacts to Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift News on Monday
NFL Reporter Laura Rutledge Reacts to Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift News on Monday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The NFL preseason is fully underway, but off the field, news broke on Monday that had everything to do with one of the game's best tight ends of one of the best teams in the league. Travis Kelce, the star tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs, will finally have his girlfriend, pop star Taylor Swift, on his "New Heights" podcast after months of fans' demand. The two have one of the most high-profile relationships, not just in the NFL but in all of sports and entertainment, even though some football fans find the attention it has attracted annoying. Kelce and Swift recently announced that the pop superstar will make an appearance by posting a teaser video on Instagram. NFL reporter Terry Rutledge couldn't contain her excitement over the news. 'OMGGGGGGGGGG,' Rutledge commented on Instagram. Rutledge Has Become a Big Figure in Sports Journalism In recent years, more and more women have been dominating sports reporting, and Rutledge has been all over the place when it comes to football. She started as a sideline reporter for Fox Sports, covering the network's broadcast of Tampa Bay Rays games and subsequently San Diego Padres contests. In 2013, she hosted "Chargers Insider," a show covering the then-San Diego Chargers. A year later, Rutledge started hosting halftime and postgame shows for Fox's coverage of college football. She became the host of the SEC Network's "SEC Nation" in 2017, and in 2020, she started hosting "NFL Live" on ESPN. Kelce and Swift Are the NFL's Resident Celebrity Couple The relationship between Kelce and Swift reportedly began in the summer of 2023, when Kelce shared during an episode of "New Heights" that he tried to give Swift a friendship bracelet, but he also clarified it didn't lead to anything then. Early in the 2023 season, he said on "The Pat McAfee Show" that he invited Swift to a Chiefs game. She then attended their Week 3 home contest against the Chicago Bears, and the two were seen riding off in Kelce's convertible afterward. The following week, Swift was at MetLife Stadium when Kansas City visited the New York Jets. Things snowballed from there, and before long, the two were confirmed to be dating. Plenty of football fans have complained about the attention Swift has gotten during telecasts of Chiefs games, which included camera shots of her sitting in the luxury suite at Arrowhead Stadium. But she has apparently brought in more fans and higher ratings for the NFL, which isn't exactly a bad thing. The Chiefs went on to win their third Super Bowl championship in five years by escaping the San Francisco 49ers at the end of the 2023 season. They lost decisively in last season's big game to the Philadelphia Eagles, and with plenty counting them out for 2025, they could end up having a chip on their shoulders once Week 1 story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pasquantino doubles, homers, drives in 5, leading the Royals past the Nationals 8-5
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Vinnie Pasquantino doubled, homered and drove in five runs as the Kansas City Royals topped the Washington Nationals 8-5 to reach the .500 mark for the second time since mid-June. After a two-out, third-inning walk by Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr.'s infield hit, Pasquantino hit Mitchell Parker's first-pitch fastball into the second row of the right field stands, a few feet inside the foul pole, expanding Kansas City's lead to 4-0. Pasquantino opened the scoring with a first-inning sacrifice fly and capped the Royals scoring with an RBI double in the seventh. Jonathan India's two-run homer extended Kansas City's lead to 7-2 in the sixth. Michael Wacha (7-9) allowed two runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings, his sixth consecutive start permitting fewer than three runs. Lucas Erceg earned his second save with a hitless ninth. In 5 1/3 innings, Parker (7-13) allowed five runs on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Over his last three starts — all losses — Parker has allowed 17 runs in 14 1/3 innings. Leaping at the center field wall, Robert Hassell III robbed Randal Grichuk of a solo home run in the fifth. In the sixth, CJ Abrams scored when Witt misplayed Paul DeJong's deep pop fly, cutting the Royals lead to 4-2. Abrams and James Wood collected two-out RBIs in the seventh. Wood recorded his fourth straight multihit game. Key moment On Witt's soft ground out between the plate and mound, Garcia hustled from first to third before scoring on Pasquantino's sacrifice fly as Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in a hitless first inning. Key stat Pasquantino leads the Royals 32 two-out RBIs and ranks second in the majors with 23 go-ahead RBIs. Up next Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (8-7, 4.90 ERA) opposes Royals RHP Seth Lugo (8-6, 3.46) ___ AP MLB: Marc Bowman, The Associated Press
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jazz Chisholm homers to help Yankees send Cardinals to their 3rd straight loss 4-3
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr. homered and Luis Gil pitched one-run ball over 5 1/3 innings to help the New York Yankees beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 Friday night. Gil (1-1) allowed one run on four hits and three walks and had four strikeouts in his third start of the season. David Bednar pitched a scoreless ninth for his 19th save of the season and second for the Yankees. Andre Pallante (6-10) allowed four runs on six hits and three walks and struck out a season-high eight batters in five innings for the Cardinals, who have lost three straight games. Victor Scott II hit an RBI double down the right field line off Camilo Doval, and Pedro Pagés scored on a wild pitch from Luke Weaver in the bottom of the seventh to cut the Yankees' lead to 4-3. Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn hit back-to-back doubles to right field in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the Cardinals on the scoreboard and chase Gil from the game. Jason Domínguez lined a two-out RBI single to left field in the top of the third inning to put the Yankees ahead 4-0. Chisholm lined a two-out, two-run homer, his 21st of the season, down the right field line to cap off a three-run first inning for the Yankees. Key moment Yankees first baseman Paul Goldschmidt entered the game as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the eighth inning in his first appearance at Busch Stadium since playing for the Cardinals from 2019-2024. Goldschmidt has been dealing with a mild right knee sprain suffered in Tuesday night's 9-1 loss to Minnesota. Key stat Judge has reached base safely in 98 of his 112 games played this season. He went 0 for 4, but drew a walk off Matt Svanson in the ninth inning. Up next Yankees LHP Max Fried (12-5, 2.94 ERA) is scheduled to oppose Cardinals RHP Sonny Gray (11-5, 4.06) Saturday. ___ AP MLB: David Solomon, The Associated Press
