March Madness 2012: Dates, Schedule, Tournament Sites, and Tickets

January 25, 2012 By 2 Comments

I have done a post like this every year since MSF began, outlining the schedule and tournament sites of each year’s upcoming March Madness season. And even though we are still a long ways from Selection Sunday, I like to get the post out early so that people can start thinking forward with their March Madness ticket and travel plans.

march-madness-2012-dates-schedule-tournament-sites-ticketsWhat has me especially excited about this year’s post is that my beloved Hoosiers actually have what seems like – knock on wood – a pretty good chance to get back to the tournament for first time in this website’s existence. (Wow, does that put things into perspective. It’s been too long.)

To see if Indiana or any other team is currently projected to be a March Madness 2012 participant, and where the teams will likely be seeded, here is a link to the best March Madness 2012 bracketology on the web.

And now, here is all of the basic information you need to know about the 2012 edition of March Madness, including the schedule, key dates, all of the tournament sites, and links to buy tickets to each of the 67 games that will comprise this year’s NCAA Tournament – the greatest sports month of the year.

March Madness 2012 Schedule and Key Dates

Here are the key dates to keep in mind as this year’s NCAA Tournament approaches:

  • March 5-March 11: Conference Championship Week
  • March 11: Selection Sunday
  • March 13 and 14: First Four
  • March 15 and 16: Second Round Games*
  • March 17 and 18: Third Round Games*
  • March 22 and 23: Sweet 16 Games
  • March 24 and 25: Elite 8 Games
  • March 31: Final 4
  • April 2: NCAA Championship Game

* – Remember that because of the First Four, the games on the NCAA Tournament’s traditional opening weekend are now officially referred to as “second round” and “third round” games, as silly as that sounds.

March Madness 2012 Tournament Sites and Tickets

Below you will find a breakdown of the March Madness 2012 schedule by tournament site, with links for you to buy tickets to each site. Obviously it is tough to know which site to buy tickets for if you follow a specific team, which is why I encourage you to bookmark this page so you can come back in March when the field of 68 is announced.

All ticket links below go to TicketLiquidator.com. Midwest Sports Fans does have an affiliate relationship with Ticket Liquidator, so we greatly appreciate you purchasing your tickets via the links below as each purchase helps to keep our website alive.

I have ordered tickets from Ticket Liquidator in the past, so I can personally vouch for their ordering system and customer service. I would not link you to them if I could not.

Additionally, here are some other links that may help with your travel plans:

First Four Sites and Tickets

  • Dates: March 13th and 14th
  • Site: University of Dayton Arena in Dayton Ohio
  • First Four Tickets: All Session Strip

Second and Third Round Sites and Tickets

Portland, Oregon

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Louisville, Kentucky

Columbus, Ohio

Omaha, Nebraska

Nashville, Tennessee

Greensboro, North Carolina

Regional Sites and Tickets

East Regional in Boston, Massachusetts

West Regional in Phoenix, Arizona

Midwest Regional in St. Louis, Missouri

final-four-2012-new-orleans-logo-tickets-dates-schedule-ncaa-tournamentSouth Regional in Atlanta, Georgia

Final Four Site and Tickets

New Orleans, Louisiana

March Madness History

Longtime readers of MSF know that we have done a number of posts related to the history of this wonderful sporting event. Here are links to these posts:

And just to whet your appetite or another exciting March, how about the last two One Shining Moment videos? MSF’s beloved Butler Bulldogs are featured prominently in both, and since they don’t look like national contenders this year, it seems like an appropriate tribute.

Of course, at this time last year everyone was saying the same thing…

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Filed Under: March Madness, March Madness 2012 Tagged With: March Madness, march madness 2012, march madness 2012 schedule, march madness 2012 sites, march madness 2012 tickets, ncaa tournament 2012, ncaa tournament 2012 schedule
About Jerod Morris

A proud graduate of Indiana University, Jerod Morris founded Midwest Sports Fans in August of 2008 and has been its Managing Editor every day since. Follow him on Twitter (@JerodMorris) for MSF updates, sports discussion, and a compelling daily assortment of funny and interesting links.
In addition to his work at MSF, Jerod hosts the fast-growing Indiana basketball postgame show The Assembly Call and provides regular music recommendations at IndieChristmas.com. He also helped develop the Synthesis Managed WordPress Hosting platform on which MSF and all of his other sites are run.