NCAA Division I Soccer Championships to be held entirely in Cary, N.C.

The 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Soccer Championships will be held entirely in Cary, North Carolina, and the surrounding areas.

All 48 women’s teams and all 36 men’s teams that qualify for the events will gather at the central location, as part of a proposal which was approved by the NCAA’s Division I Competition Oversight Committee on Wednesday.

The move is effective for this year’s men’s and women’s soccer championships, which were postponed last fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The Division I Men’s and Women’s Soccer Committees believe having both championships in one geographic location will minimize travel and condense the overall time to conduct the championships.

It also minimizes the number of local and state health jurisdiction guidelines by which to abide. In addition, the proposal centralizes and provides efficiencies for COVID-19 testing sites and setup.

Selections for both championships will be April 19, and both tournaments will conclude with the NCAA College Cups at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. The women’s national semifinals will be May 13 and the men’s May 14, while both national champions will be crowned May 17.

Other dates for the tournaments are:

• First round — Women, April 27-28; Men, April 29.
• Second round — Women, April 30-May 1; Men, May 2.
• Third round — Women, May 5; Men, May 6.
• Quarterfinals — Women, May 9; Men, May 10.

Currently, the campus venues that will host tournament games are at Campbell, East Carolina, University of North Carolina Wilmington, UNC Greensboro and Wake Forest.

Off-campus sites for tournament matches include:

• Bryan Park (Greensboro, North Carolina).
•  J. Burt Gillette Athletic Complex (Wilson, North Carolina).
• Sportsplex (Matthews, North Carolina).
• WakeMed Soccer Park (Cary, North Carolina).

The committees intend to provide some opportunity for family and friends to attend the championships. They will follow the NCAA Medical Advisory Group guidelines, and the maximum allowable capacity will be 25 percent.