The National Junior College Athletic Association meetings in Birmingham, Alabama brought a couple pieces of news. ONE, in an effort to align all of the bids for hosting championships around the country more evenly, all bids for hosting championships will be for two or four year terms starting with the 2023-2024 school year.
Danville plans to go for the longest commitment possible, so that means four more years is the goal.
In addition, after next year’s edition of 16 regional titlists coming to Danville, the following year in 2024, should Danville win the bid to keep the tournament, 20 teams will be coming.
That’s right, after much discussion of the last few years, four at large teams are being added; and every team will be guaranteed the playing of at least two games.
Tournament director Brian Hensgen fully intends for Danville to still be hosting the tournament starting in 2024. And as he mentioned on 1490 WDAN’s Saturday Morning Sports Talk; with the compromise of adding four at large teams, but making sure everyone plays at least twice, more schools and more players will get to know Danville, Illinois.
AUDIO: It’s no different moving forward in 2024. They’re going to be able to come in, and have that type of interaction with our schools, with our restaurants, with our volunteeers; and get to realize that Danville is a great community. It’s not just fly in, fly out, and then they’re gone.
Danville will be putting in its bid to keep the tournament sometime in June. And by the way, instead of 26 games over five days, the NJCAA Division II Tournament will be 32 games over six days starting in 2024.
