NCAA college basketball tournaments

Several NCAA college basketball tournaments have brought high-profile men's and women's college basketball games to the 16,063-seat coliseum at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.

The arena was considered undersized and outdated after 2008, but the NCAA resumed playing at the renovated Legacy Arena in

1982 Men's Mideast regional Semifinals and finals

• Sweet Sixteen

• UAB (4) defeated Virginia (1) 68-66
• Louisville (3) defeated Minnesota (2) 67-61

• Elite Eight

• Lousville defeated UAB 75-68, then lost to champion Georgetown in the Final Four at New Orleans.

1985 Men's Southeast regional Semifinals and finals

• Sweet Sixteen

• Villanova (8) defeated Maryland (5) 46-43
• North Carolina (2) defeated Auburn (11) 62-56

• Elite Eight

• Villanova defeated North Carolina 56-44, and went on to upset Georgetown in the final at Lexington, Kentucky

1988 Men's Southeast regional Semifinals and finals

• Sweet Sixteen

• Oklahoma (1) defeated Lousville (5) 108-98
• Villanova (6) defeated Kentucky (2) 80-74

• Elite Eight

• Oklahoma defeated Villanova 78-59, then lost to Kansas in the championship game in Kansas City, Missouri.

1995 Men's Southeast regional Semifinals and finals

• Sweet Sixteen

• Oklahoma State (4) defeated Wake Forest (1) 71-66
• Massachusetts (2) defeated Tulsa (6) 76-51

• Elite Eight

• Oklahoma State defeated Massachusetts 68-54, then lost to UCLA in the Final Four in Seattle, Washington.

1997 Men's Southeast regional Semifinals and finals

• Sweet Sixteen

• Arizona (4) defeated Kansas (1) 85-82
• Providence (10) defeated Tennessee-Chattanooga 71-65

• Elite Eight

• Arizona defeated Providence 96-92 and was crowned champion after beating North Carolina and Kentucky in Indianapolis, Indiana

2000 Men's First and second round games

• First round

• Tennessee (4) defeated Louisiana-Lafayette (13) 63-58
• Connecticut (5) defeated Utah State (12) 75-67
• North Carolina (8) defeated Missouri (9) 84-70
• Stanford (1) defeated South Carolina State (16) 84-65

• Second round

• North Carolina upset Stanford 60-53 and went on the Final Four, losing to Florida in the semi-final.
• Tennessee defeated Connecticut 65-51, then lost to North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen.

The coliseum hosted an average crowd of 13,772 over the course of three two-game sessions.

2003 Men's First and second round games

• First round

• Texas (1) defeated UNC-Asheville (16) 82-61
• Purdue (9) defeated LSU (8) 80-56
• Butler (12) defeated Mississippi State (5) 47-46
• Louisville (4) defeated Austin Peay (13) 86-64

• Second round

• Texas defeated Purdue 77-67 and went on to the Final Four, losing to Syracuse in the semi-final.
• Butler upset Louisville 79-61, then lost to 1-seed Oklahoma in the Sweet Sixteen.

The coliseum hosted an average crowd of 15,727 over the course of three two-game sessions.

2008 Men's First and second round games

• First round (Friday, March 21)

• Tennessee (2) defeated American (15) 72-57.
• Louisville (3) defeated Boise State (14) 79-61.
• Oklahoma (6) defeated St Joseph's (11) 72-64.
• Butler (7) defeated South Alabama (10) 81-61.

• Sunday, March 23

• Tennessee defeated Butler 76-71 in overtime.
• Louisville defeated Oklahoma 78-48.

The coliseum hosted an average crowd of 14,447 over the course of three two-game sessions.

References

• Solomon, Jon (March 24, 2008) "CBS gives city 'shining moment' with NCAA basketball." The Birmingham News
• Patchen, Tyler (October 14, 2020) "March Madness returning to Birmingham in 2023, 2025." Birmingham Business Journal