USCAA Extends Basketball Championships in Buffalo
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The United States Collegiate Athletic Association is excited to announce the extension of Buffalo, New York as the host city for Basketball National Championships through 2028.
About 2,000 visitors are expected to spend an esti mated $2 million as they stay in local hotels and take in the region’s offer ings like professional Buf falo Sabres hockey games, the newly reopened Buffa lo AKG Art Museum and the unique local culinary scene with its purveyors of the classic, original Buffalo chicken wings. In the past, Erie County saw a hotel occupancy – up 14.2% the week USCAA was hosted in Buffalo as a direct result of the tournament.
The championships, held in March of 2027 and 2028, will be organized by the USCAA National Office and the Buffalo Sports Commission. The tournaments will draw an estimated 1,000 visiting fans and will include about 800 players on 36 teams representing schools from multiple states.
“We are excited to extend our partnership with the USCAA and welcome student-athletes, coaches, and fans from all over the country back to Buffalo through 2028. This championship not only highlights our city’s exceptional sports venues but also offers visitors the chance to experience the vibrant energy of downtown, our world renowned cultural attractions, and, of course, the original Buffalo wing,” said Buffalo Sports Com mission CEO and President Patrick Kaler. “The influence is tangible, more than thirty teams from across the nation calling Buffalo home for eight nights creates an atmosphere of energy and excitement that resonates throughout our community, and we look forward to building on that momentum in the years ahead.”
Bryant & Stratton College’s Buffalo campus and Villa Maria College, both USCAA members, will also help organize the tournament.
“We are thrilled to extend the Basketball Small College National Championships in Buf falo,” said USCAA CEO BJ Bertges. “The support from the Buffalo Sports Commission, Visit Buffa lo, and our co-host mem ber institutions—Villa Maria College and Bryant & Stratton Buffalo—has made this one of our most successful championship events. We look forward to building on that success in the years to come.”
Most of the tournament will be held at the 2,700 seat arena SUNY Erie Community College’s Burt Flickinger Athletic Center, built for the 1993 World University Games.
Villa Maria College, home of the Vikings, will also serve as hosts, its campus and athletic cen ter in Cheektowaga, a sub urb on Buffalo’s southern border. The school has newly renovated gyms, a modern weight and exer cise room and a training center.