NCAA, U of M, City of Minneapolis, Lynx preview Women’s Basketball Final Four

Representatives of the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Lynx, the NCAA and the City of Minneapolis came together to discuss the plans, preparations and excitement ahead of April’s Women’s Basketball Final Four at Target Center.

Click the video box on this page to watch clips from the NCAA’s announcement of details surrounding the 2022 Women’s Basketball Final Four in Minneapolis – including comments from Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, former Gopher and current Lynx player Rachel Banham, former Gopher and current TV analyst Lea B. Olsen, U of M Deputy Athletics Director Julie Manning, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and the NCAA’s VP of Women’s Basketball Lynn Holzman

The Final Four will play at Target Center April 1-3. Ticket information is available here: ncaa.com/WomensFinalFour.

There will be many other activities and happenings around town the week of the Final Four:

WOMEN’S FINAL FOUR TOURNEY TOWN PRESENTED BY CAPITAL ONE
Tip off your weekend with a trip to Tourney Town presented by Capital One. Tourney Town is a FREE festival built to celebrate women’s basketball and the Final Four teams. Includes sport activations, games, pep rallies, appearances by the participating team bands, cheer squads and mascots, merchandise sales and more.

DATES: April 1, 2 and 3
LOCATION: Minneapolis Convention Center
COST: FREE
TOURNEY TOWN HOURS:
Friday, April 1: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Saturday, April 2: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Sunday, April 3: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

BEYOND THE BASELINE PRESENTED BY AT&T
This women’s initiative programming takes place in Tourney Town. A series of exciting opportunities at Beyond the Baseline focused on providing professional development opportunities through a mix of womencentric panel discussions, networking, social events and one-on-one interactions with coaches, administrators, professional athletes, business leaders and fans of the game. The goal is creating diverse conversations to allow women leaders to show the parallel between business and basketball, specifically leadership advice for recruiting, motivating and winning as a team on the court or at the office. Come celebrate women’s basketball and women’s advancement through excellence at Tourney Town!

PARTY ON THE PLAZA PRESENTED BY BUICK
Celebrate the Women’s Final Four teams while enjoying this outdoor pre-game event that features food/beverages, merchandise sales, music, games, photo opportunities and more. Free event open to the public taking place outside of Target Center.
DATES: April 1, 2 and 3
LOCATION: 1st Avenue in front of Target Center
COST: FREE
PARTY ON THE PLAZA HOURS:
Friday, April 1: 3 – 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 2: 12 – 4 p.m.
Sunday, April 3: 2 – 4:30 p.m.

SUNDAY RED CARPET ARRIVALS
Cheer on the final two teams as they arrive and enter Target Center on their way to compete for the national title Sunday evening. Teams will arrive for the red-carpet arrival at the intersection of 7th Street and 1st Avenue at approximately 3 p.m.

SUPER SATURDAY PRACTICE
Target Center will host free open practices for the two teams competing in Sunday’s National Championship game.
DATE: Saturday, April 2
TIME: 1 – 3:15 p.m. (Doors open at 12:30 p.m.)
LOCATION: Target Center
COST: FREE

SUPER SATURDAY CONCERT PRESENTED BY AT&T
The celebration of women’s basketball continues Saturday evening at the Minneapolis Convention Center with the Super Saturday Concert presented by AT&T, which is a FREE event open to the public. Attendees must register for a ticket at NCAA.com/womensfinalfour. Event will feature food/beverages for sale, appearances by the two participating team bands, a DJ and headliner to be announced. The Men’s Final Four semifinal games will also be available to watch in select areas.
DATE: Saturday, April 2
TIME: 6 – 10 p.m.
LOCATION: Minneapolis Convention Center
COST: FREE

WOMEN’S FINAL FOUR BOUNCE PRESENTED BY BUICK
Hop, skip and jump into Women’s Final Four action with the NCAA Women’s Final Four Bounce presented by Buick. Youth ages 18 and under are invited to participate in this unique parade and FREE Women’s Final Four event, joining thousands of fans dribbling their way along the streets of Minneapolis and into Tourney Town presented by Capital One – the official fan festival of the 2022 Women’s Final Four. The first 2,000 participants will receive a FREE basketball and t-shirt. Come into a select Buick dealership for early and exclusive registration for this event. Full list of Buick dealerships can be found here.
DATE: Sunday, April 3
TIME: 11 a.m. registration; 1 p.m. Bounce
LOCATION: Minneapolis Convention Center
BOUNCE ROUTE: Start Line: 2nd Ave. in front of the main entrance to the Minneapolis
Convention Center. Finish Line: Tourney Town at the Minneapolis
Convention Center
COST: FREE
REGISTRATION: Online preregistration is recommended, as space is limited and will go fast.
First 2,000 registered participants will receive a T-shirt and basketball.
Register at https://www.ncaa.com/womens-final-four/bounce#overview

COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

NCAA READ TO THE FINAL FOUR
Designed to leave a lasting impact and legacy on the students of Minneapolis, the NCAA Read to the Final Four will engage, inspire and incentivize elementary students’ love of reading. When the national semifinals tip April 1, the Read to the Final Four program will have challenged thousands of local third grade students in a reading challenge/competition. The competition concludes at the end of March and the top “Final Four” schools will win a field trip to Tourney Town presented by Capital One at the Minneapolis Convention Center, where schools and reading champions will be recognized by the NCAA and the Minnesota Local Organizing Committee.
KAY YOW CANCER FUND RESEARCH GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT
On March 30, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund will announce a special research grant for a chosen cancer research center in Minneapolis. 2022 will mark the 15th consecutive year that the Kay Yow Cancer Fund has made a sizable donation to a cancer research facility in the host city of the Women’s Final Four.
NCAA LEGACY DREAM COURT RESTORATION PROJECT
The NCAA and Nancy Lieberman Charities have teamed up with the Minnesota Local Organizing Committee to renovate an outdoor playing court at Elizabeth Hall STEM Academy located at 1603 Aldrich Avenue North. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Dream Court will be conducted the afternoon of Wednesday, March 30, during Women’s Final Four week.