SAN ANTONIO — March Madness is just around the corner, and this year, the men’s Final Four will be hosted in the Alamo City. 

What You Need To Know

  • The semifinal and final games are scheduled for April 5 and April 7 at the Alamodome

  • While on its way to San Antonio, the championship trophy and a representative with the Final Four stopped by Spectrum News to talk about the upcoming festivities

  • “You can ask the NCAA coaches, fans in general. San Antonio is certainly one of the favorite places to host the Final Four," said Mary Ullmann Japhet, a representative with the NCAA Men's Final Four

Which team will hoist the NCAA national championship trophy has yet to be determined, but the semifinal and final matchups are scheduled for April 5 and April 7 at the Alamodome. 

While on its way to San Antonio, the championship trophy and a representative with the NCAA Men's Final Four stopped by Spectrum News to talk about the upcoming festivities.

“What we really want everybody in Austin to understand and across South Texas is to just to understand that there are so many fan events and exciting things happening outside of the Alamodome,” Mary Ullmann Japhet said. “We always say ‘no ticket, no problem,’ because if you love basketball and you just want to be a part of the energy of the Final Four, we’ve got lots of options for you.”

One of the free fan events is the NCAA March Madness Music Festival, which begins on April 4 with Mr. Worldwide himself, Pitbull, as the headliner. The festival goes through April 6, and other headliners include Jelly Roll and Chris Stapleton.

And that’s not the only event. Japhet highlighted the Men’s Final Four Fan Fest presented by Capital One at the Henry B. González Convention Center, which kicks off April 4 and goes through April 7. The festival will have four days of interactive exhibits and feature some of your favorite athletes signing autographs and taking pictures. 

“You might see Shaq, you might see Charles Barkley doing their things, lots of autographs, signings, all of that sort of stuff is happening in the fan zone,” Japhet said. 

Japhet also mentioned the Tip-Off Tailgate, presented by Nissan, which will be at Civic Park. The tailgate will host free watch parties for both the men’s and women’s semifinal and final games. The women’s Final Four is being played in Tampa Bay, Florida.

“Plus, we will be doing things that only San Antonio can do, like having a floating pep rally before the semifinal games on the Riverwalk,” Japhet said. 

And whichever team wins it all will get on a barge at the Riverwalk and have a pep rally after the championship game. 

“You can ask the NCAA coaches, fans in general. San Antonio is certainly one of the favorite places to host the Final Four. And largely it’s because of our footprint,” Japhet said. “Once you’re in downtown San Antonio, you’re in the vibe, you’re in the zone having a great time.”

Selection Sunday is on March 16 at 6 p.m. where the 68 teams will be chosen for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and then it will be time to fill out your brackets.