In this week's episode of Welcome to What’s The Frequency, hear about a big event underway in Siouxland, as a deluge of women’s basketball teams, their friends and family, plus area hoops fans are landing at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City.
They are taking part in and watching the 43rd annual championship tournament of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, or NAIA, from March 21-26. The semi-final, or Final Four, games are played on March 25, then the championship is the evening of Tuesday the 26th.
The national women’s basketball tourney has been played in Sioux City for 27 years.
Community leaders like it not only for the good level of basketball that can be enjoyed, but also how busy the restaurants, coffee shops, and hotels can be. That is a boost to the regional economy, especially when local teams such as Morningside, Briar Cliff, Dordt or Northwestern make the field, when more than a combined 10,000 people may come watch games.
So many people are needed to pull off the NAIA tourney, from referees and city crews keeping up the Tyson venue, plus a host of volunteers handling a zillion tasks.
All that is discussed on What’s The Frequency by guests Corey Westra, the leader of the Great Plains Athletic Conference and who has a huge hand in operating the national tourney, plus longtime tourney worker volunteer Pat Collins, and Briar Cliff women’s basketball head coach Brian Ortmeier, a team that is in the tourney.
Click on the audio link above to hear the entire show.
*What's The Frequency, Episode 10
