May 6-8, 2016: Beach volleyball, the 90th NCAA championship, begins play in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The sport was placed on the NCAA emerging sports for women list in 2009 and reached championship status faster than any sport on the list. Southern California defeats Florida State 3-0 in the final dual to win the first NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship and begins the tradition of the national championship team jumping into the Gulf of Mexico. May 8, 2016 0
April 12, 2016: The NCAA announces an eight-year, $8.8 billion extension of its multimedia rights agreement with CBS Sports and Turner, a division of Time Warner, for the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. The new contract extends the agreement through 2032. April 12, 2016 3
April 5, 2016: Coach Geno Auriemma leads UConn to an 82-51 win over Syracuse in the Women’s Final Four to capture the program’s fourth consecutive NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. The victory is also Auriemma’s 11th overall national title, which is the most in NCAA basketball, breaking the mark of John Wooden, who led the UCLA men’s team to 10 NCAA championships. April 5, 2016 2
April 2016: The Board of Governors announces new requirements for host cities that include protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for all people involved in the event. This decision was prompted by several states passing laws that permit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in accordance with religious beliefs. April 1, 2016 1