Pittsburgh Skyline Turns Blue in Honor of Ultimate NCAA Basketball Weekend

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Local Organizing Committee (PGH LOC), in partnership with BOMA Pittsburgh, is delighted to share that several Downtown buildings will light up in blue tonight to commemorate the Ultimate NCAA Basketball Weekend in Pittsburgh.

“The Pittsburgh Local Organizing Committee’s top goal with each NCAA Championship event is to ensure that the student-athletes and teams feel welcomed in Pittsburgh and return to their campuses with iconic experiences,” SportsPITTSBURGH Executive Director Jennifer Hawkins said. “As always, our Pittsburgh community has rallied to show why our region is the definitive destination for sports events.”

Duquesne University and SportsPITTSBURGH will co-host the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball First & Second Rounds, which tip off today with four exciting games at PPG Paints Arena:

• Game One: No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Loyola Chicago | 12:15 p.m. | CBS
• Game Two: No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 15 Delaware | 2:45 p.m. | CBS
• Game Three: No. 4 Illinois vs. No. 13 Chattanooga | 6:50 p.m. | TNT
• Game Four: No. 5 Houston vs. No. 12 UAB | 9:20 p.m. | TNT

The winners will meet in the second round on Sunday, March 20, with game times to be determined.

Also this weekend, the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and SportsPITTSBURGH are co-hosting the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Following a pair of thrilling semifinal games on March 17, Wisconsin-Whitewater will face Hope College in the National Championship on Saturday, March 19, at 2 p.m., on CBS Sports Network.

Tickets remain for both championship events. Fans can purchase tickets for the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball National Championship through Duquesne’s ticket office. Single-session tickets for the men’s first and second rounds can be purchased at ncaa.com/mbbtickets.

Combined, the two championship events are expected to draw thousands of out-of-town visitors, resulting in an estimated $10.5+ million in direct visitor spend; this is a $2 million increase from when Pittsburgh last welcomed the men’s tournament in 2018.

About Presidents’ Athletic Conference
Currently comprised of 11 select private institutions – Allegheny College, Bethany College, Chatham University, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Geneva College, Grove City College, Saint Vincent College, Thiel College, Washington & Jefferson College, Waynesburg University and Westminster College – the PAC remains a unique organization in this day of high-pressure intercollegiate athletics, with academics at the center of each member’s philosophy. The PAC, which recently celebrated its 60th anniversary, crowns league champions and awards all-conference honors in its 23 championship sports.

About Duquesne University
Founded in 1878, Duquesne is consistently ranked among the nation's top Catholic universities for its award-winning faculty and horizon-expanding education. A campus of nearly 9,500 graduate and undergraduate students, Duquesne prepares students by having them work alongside faculty to discover and reach their goals. The University’s academic programs, community service and commitment to equity and opportunity in the Pittsburgh region have earned national acclaim.

About SportsPITTSBURGH
As a division of VisitPITTSBURGH, SportsPITTSBURGH’s primary goal is to attract and host a wide variety of sporting events while providing planners and local stakeholders with the expertise and professionalism required to host a world-class event in the Pittsburgh region.