NCAA, organizing committee unveil 2027 Men’s Final Four logo

DETROIT — The NCAA and the Detroit Local Organizing Committee revealed the logo for the 2027 Men’s Final Four on Friday, Dec 19, at Ford Field. The tournament games will take place at Ford Field on April 3 and April 5, 2027.

“We are thrilled that the Final Four is returning to the great city of Detroit,” NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt said. “While it’s only the second time the Final Four has come to the city, Detroit and other Michigan cities have a long history … of hosting March Madness.”

The Palace of Auburn Hills, Ford Field, Little Caesars Arena, the Pontiac Silverdome and Jenison Fieldhouse have all hosted NCAA Tournament games before, dating back as far as 1963. However, the Final Four has only been in Michigan once before, in 2009, also at Ford Field.

“The Final Four is much different than it was in 2009,” said Dave Beachnau, CEO of the Detroit Local Organizing Committee for the 2027 Men’s Final Four. “It’s really been amplified.”

Beachnau went on to say that last year’s Men’s Final Four in San Antonio reported $400 million in economic impact on the area and that organizers expect about 100,000 visitors to come in from out of town for the event.

In 2024, downtown Detroit hosted the NFL Draft and reported an all-time NFL record in attendance with 775,000 people showing up across three days. In 2027, the Final Four will have a different feel to it.

“The NFL Draft was a great event, but these two events are almost complete opposites,” Beachnau said. “We did have a lot of out of town visitors for the draft, but it was largely a local audience. The Final Four … certainly the local people will be able to enjoy the events, but it’s largely a visitor event.”

At the logo release on Dec 19, members of the Michigan State University basketball program were also in attendance. MSU head coach Tom Izzo offered his support of the event and the logo.

“Michigan State played a huge role in us being able to win the bid for 2027. Not only coach Izzo with his reputation … but (MSU) has great credibility with the NCAA from an event management standpoint and how they conduct their business,” Beachnau said. “While there were a lot of factors that went into the decision to come to Detroit, I think without Michigan State it would’ve been more difficult for us.”

The last time that the Men’s Final Four was in Detroit, Izzo and MSU made the Final Four and lost to the University of North Carolina in the national championship game. The 2009 Spartans are one of the few teams in NCAA history to play a Final Four game in the program’s home state.

In 2008, regional final games were played at Ford Field and were used as a dress rehearsal for the 2009 Final Four. The games were the first to feature the basketball court placed at the 50-yard line, rather than the end zone, in order to get more fans in attendance. According to Beachnau, 2008 is still one of the most-attended regional games in NCAA history.

“The people of this state love basketball at all levels, and those people owe an amount of gratitude to the Detroit Sports Commission, which put its best foot forward during a competitive site selection process to show off the transformation of downtown Detroit,” Gavitt said. “It’s a great time to be a sports fan in Michigan.”

Over the last several years, Detroit has seen the NFL Draft, the announcement of a new WNBA franchise, and now the 2027 Men’s Final Four. This, along with the continued success of the teams in the area, highlights the excitement surrounding sports in the community.

“The Tigers are coming off a trip to the postseason, the Pistons and Red Wings are playing great, Michigan and Michigan State are two of the best college basketball teams in the country,” Gavitt said. “And today we officially began the countdown to the 2027 Men’s Final Four with the unveiling of the logo for what promises to be a great event.”

For more information, visit finalfourdetroit.com. The new website features a countdown to the event, press releases, updates, information and the ability to subscribe to the 2027 Men’s Final Four email list.