Tampa’s vibrant atmosphere at the 2025 NCAA Women’s Final Four sets the bar for Phoenix, which looks to bring the same energy – and more — to the Valley in 2026. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
PHOENIX – The 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four is less than a year away and will land in the Valley for the first time.
The 2026 Phoenix Local Organizing Committee has been looking ahead to the event for several months, preparing to host at the recently renamed PHX Arena – formerly Footprint Center. The theme of the Women’s Final Four in 2026 will be “empowering women,” and the committee plans on pulling out all the stops to live up to that slogan.
“Anytime you can do something for the first time, that’s a tremendous responsibility and a tremendous opportunity for Arizona,” said Kyle Hedstrom, the committee’s head of events, finance and partnerships. “Obviously women’s (basketball) is on a tear right now in terms of viewership and engagement around the sport, so it’s incredibly exciting and we’re looking forward to it.”
The women’s national championship game reached a record viewership of nearly 19 million in 2024, largely thanks to the anticipation of Caitlin Clark and Iowa against undefeated South Carolina. In 2025, however, the numbers dipped to 8.6 million as Paige Bueckers and UConn halted South Carolina’s pursuit of back-to-back titles.
Jen Barnett, the committee’s head of operations and social responsibility, believes that next year’s Final Four will be an ideal opportunity as the sport continues to grow in visibility and support.
“We are so excited; this is a historic event for us,” said Barnett, who previously worked as the event manager for the Phoenix Mercury. “It could not come at a better time, interest in women’s sports, specifically women’s basketball, is at an all-time high, so what better chance for us to highlight Arizona and Phoenix on a national and global stage.”
The Women’s Final Four lasts just one weekend, but planning and preparation for the event and its supporting festivities begins over a year in advance. Typically, pregame events, festivals, convention centers and concerts are thrown into the mix in addition to the games. This adds more entertainment for fans and locals, but it also makes the local organizing committee’s job that much harder.
The 2025 championship game was held in Tampa, and members of Phoenix’s committee attended to get an idea of what to expect next year.
“Tampa did a phenomenal job of hosting,” Barnett said. “They’ve done it a record four times, so as a location who’s never hosted, we couldn’t ask for a better place to go observe and see what they did. They set the bar high, but we know Arizona is primed and ready to raise it even higher.”
The Phoenix metropolitan is no stranger to primetime events, having previously hosted three Super Bowls, the Men’s Final Four in 2017 and 2024, and the 2016 College Football Playoff Championship game. Hedstrom has prior experience hosting big games himself, including Super Bowl 57, so he is familiar with the workload as the countdown gets closer to tip-off.
“It looks like we’re going to need the next 358 days, but we’ve got some tremendous experience here, at ASU, at the arena, and with our partners at the city of Phoenix,” Hedstrom said. “We’ll be meeting monthly, starting next month, with the NCAA. So, it’s a lot, but we’re ready for it.”
The committee is aware that they need to engage local stakeholders and fundraise ahead of these types of major events. Barnett also mentioned that they are pulling in a wide variety of notable individuals for support, such as local elected officials and business leaders.
“We’ve got our local stakeholders leaning all the way in, we’ve got a great host venue at PHX Arena and a great host institution at ASU,” Barnett said. “Everyone will come together and make this the best Women’s Final Four yet.”
Hedstrom and Barnett added that they’ve already seen an encouraging amount of support around the Final Four from the local community. The Phoenix Suns and the Phoenix Mercury have joined the support as well, and members of the PHX Arena team also made the trip to Tampa.
“It’s a big, important piece of this, and we take it very seriously,” Barnett said. “When you think about the athletes, this is probably the pinnacle of their basketball career. We want to make sure Arizona rolls out the red carpet and makes this the best experience possible.
“Then you think about all the women and young girls watching, we want to do the same for them. Let’s get them excited and energized around sports.”
The committee has a lot of work ahead, but they aren’t losing sight of their first priority: the players.
“They are thrilled to be a part of this, and I think the number one thing is ensuring that they have a great experience,” Barnett said. “It’s their safety, it’s their sleep, it’s their transportation. Is this the most seamless experience they can have? That’s what we want to provide.”
The next 350 days will be hectic for every member of the Final Four committee. Hedstrom doesn’t doubt that there will be a few hiccups along the way, but he’s confident that they will be able to handle any issues that arise.
“The biggest challenge is usually the one you don’t know about yet, but again, we’ve got tremendous partners who have a lot of experience in planning these major events,” Hedstrom said. “With this being the first time we’ve ever hosted, I’m sure we’ll have some lessons in doing all of this, but we have every bit of confidence that we’ll come out of it with resounding success.”
For now, the committee plans to take the entire process day by day. Whether it’s Juju Watkins and USC, Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles with Notre Dame, or the dangerously consistent Gamecocks that show up to compete in Arizona next year, Phoenix’s first Women’s Final Four should be worth the wait.
“There’s never been a better time to host a women’s sporting event,” Barnett said. “The world is watching, and we are ready.”