GRAND FORKS — The University of North Dakota will be the host school for the 2026 NCAA Frozen Four in Las Vegas, Nevada at the T-Mobile Arena, and the 2023 and 2025 NCAA Regionals at Scheels Arena in Fargo the NCAA announced Wednesday.

“We are excited for the opportunity to partner with the city of Las Vegas, Las Vegas Events and T-Mobile Arena as the host institution for the 2026 NCAA Frozen Four,” said UND associate athletic director for operations Erik Martinson. “Bringing the flair of Vegas and our experience in hosting destination style events in hockey will not disappoint. We can’t wait to get started in what truly will be a remarkable event.”

It won’t be the first time that UND will host a hockey event in Las Vegas, as Orleans Arena was the site of the 2018 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game between North Dakota and Minnesota. Tampa, Florida, was awarded the 2023 NCAA Frozen Four with subsequent sites being awarded to Saint Paul, Minnesota in 2024 and St. Louis, Missouri in 2025 in Wednesday’s announcement.

UND is also no stranger to hosting the NCAA Regionals for hockey, having done so in four of the last six years in either Fargo or Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

This is the third time for this specific NCAA championship bid process, which created the largest host site announcement ever, spanning 86 championships across a four-year cycle. Previously, selection announcements varied by sport. This process now gives the NCAA and host sites more time to plan each championship experience.

Bidding for 86 of 90 NCAA championships began in August 2019, and more than 3,000 bid applications were ultimately submitted. Each sport committee, per division, selected the host sites it believed would provide the ultimate experience for the respective student-athletes, resulting in more than 450 total championship event sites being awarded. More than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships each year. The four championships not included in the process due to preexisting site arrangements are: Division I baseball, Division I football, Division I softball and Division III women’s ice hockey.

“Bringing the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Regionals to our market and partnering with Scheels Arena is a collaborative effort, and one we routinely make special for the surrounding communities and student-athletes participating,” said Martinson. “We strive to make each and every regional we host an unforgettable one, and I am excited to continue planning with our team both in 2021 and these announced upcoming years.”

North Dakota has previously hosted NCAA Regionals in 2015, 2017 and 2019 at Scheels Arena in Fargo, 2006 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, and 2018 at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls in the past 15 years. UND will serve as the Midwest Regional host once again in Fargo in 2021.