Dec. 20, 2004
CLEVELAND - Cleveland State's long-standing tradition of hosting NCAA championship events received another chapter this week when the NCAA announced that CSU will serve as host of the NCAA Men's Golf Central Regional at Sand Ridge Golf Club in Chardon.
The 54-hole tournament, which will feature a field made up of 27 teams and six individuals from Division I schools from the NCAA midwest, central and south central regions, will be held from May 18-20, 2006.
Teams advancing from the central regional will head to the NCAA Men's Championships, which will be held at the Crosswater Golf Course in Sunriver, OR from May 31-June 3, 2006.
"Cleveland State University has been hosting NCAA championship events for more than 30 years and we look forward to hosting the men's golf regional in 2006," CSU Athletic Director Lee Reed said.
"The Greater Cleveland area has always responded with great enthusiasm when we have brought an NCAA event to northeast Ohio and I expect that the men's golf regional will receive similar support."
"Sand Ridge Golf Club is an outstanding facility that will present a unique challenge to the tournament field. It will be three great days of golf."
Opened in 1998, Sand Ridge Golf Club was designed by world-renowned golf architect Tom Fazio, utilizing 360 acres of land. It is a par 72, 7,127-yard layout with a USGA course rating of 75.4.
Sand Ridge Golf Club was ranked as the 55th best golf course in the United State by Golf Digest in 1999. It was built around five natural wetland areas, allowing it to become the first course in Ohio to receive the national Audubon Society's Signatures Course certification and award.
In preparation for the regional Cleveland State will host a 15-team preview tournament at Sand Ridge from Sept. 11-13, featuring some of the top teams in the nation. The preview field could include No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Kentucky and No. 9 TCU.
The preview tournament will feature a practice round and College-Am on Sunday, Sept. 11, which pairs three local golfers with a member from each participating school.
The preview begins with 36 holes on Monday, Sept. 12 and concludes with a single round the following day.
The 2006 central regional will be the first time that CSU has hosted an NCAA Golf championship event and it is the fourth championship event scheduled in Cleveland over the next three years.
CSU will host NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament first and second round games in the Convocation Center next March while hosting a NCAA Women's Basketball regional in 2006 and the Women's Final Four in 2007.
Cleveland State first hosted an NCAA championship event in 1975 when the first of four NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships was held in Busbey Natatorium. The championship subsequently came back in 1977, 1979 and 1984.
Three other NCAA championship events have been hosted in Cleveland. The Convocation Center served as the host site for the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in 1996 and the NCAA Wrestling Championships in 1998.
