St. Clair County Community College is hosting the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship March 15-19 at the SC4 Fieldhouse. The championship tournament will bring the best 16 teams from across America to the Blue Water Area to compete for a national title.
During the fall of 2018, SC4 was identified as a site finalist by the NJCAA, competing with two other venues from Arkansas and Iowa. The process included a visit by NJCAA officials to evaluate the SC4 Fieldhouse and surrounding community, which resulted in SC4 being selected as the winning bid.
“The NJCAA is very excited to award SC4 with the Division II Women’s Basketball Championship in the coming years,” said Dr. Christopher J. Parker, NJCAA executive director. “We know SC4 will provide the highest quality tournament for all of our participating student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans.”
Both the 2020 and 2021 tournaments were impacted by the pandemic, so the campus and community are excited and ready to host the 2022 event.
“We are thrilled to welcome the NJCAA championship to our campus and look forward to showcasing the SC4 Fieldhouse as well as our many great restaurants, hotels, businesses and activities,” said Dale Vos, SC4 director of athletics. “We look forward to some exciting games throughout the week and to crowning a National Champion on Saturday night.”
The teams and tournament seeding will be announced by the NJCAA on Tuesday, March 8. The double–elimination tourney begins at the SC4 Fieldhouse on Tuesday, March 15, with the first game tipping off at 9 a.m. The championship game will be held on Saturday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m. Visit sc4skippers.com/fanzone/ticketing for tickets. A complete game schedule will be available on the NJCAA website njcaa.org/championships/sports/wbkb/div2.
The event will make a substantial positive impact to the local community, bringing in approximately $250,000 each year. “This is a big deal to host 16 teams and their fans in St. Clair County for a week in March,” said Marci Fogal, president of the Blue Water Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We are excited to partner with SC4 and the NJCAA to host this great event. As the spring weather arrives, it will be wonderful to have people here from throughout the U.S. enjoying our downtown and beautiful waterfront.”
