KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NCAA selected Kansas City to host its 2026 NCAA Division II Fall Festival. The Kansas City Sports Commission and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association will host six NCAA Division II national championships at four separate locations in Kansas City and surrounding areas in the fall of 2026.
 
For the fourth time in its history, the NCAA conducted a comprehensive site selection process, simultaneously putting most of its championships up for bid. The Association received more than 1,200 bids from member schools, conferences, cities and sports commissions across 47 states and Washington, D.C., all competing to host predetermined rounds for 87 of the NCAA’s 90 championships.
 
“The enthusiasm and interest from around the country to host NCAA championships continues to be a testament to the quality of our events,” said Lynda Tealer, NCAA senior vice president of championships. “For this cycle we incorporated more data into the process to help our sport and oversight committees through the evaluation and selection of sites as we had so many quality venues and locations looking to host during these two seasons. We will continue to evaluate and gather feedback on going from the traditional four-year cycle to awarding championship bids for two years to determine the right cadence for the bid process in the future.”
 
The Association chose over 240 host sites for preliminary and final rounds of predetermined championships across Divisions I, II and III, primarily for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. This cycle marked a shift from a four-year to a two-year site selection process. The respective NCAA sports committees selected the sites, with final approval from the divisional competition oversight and championships committees.

More than 900 NCAA Division II student-athletes will travel to the Kansas City area in 2026 to compete for six NCAA fall championships.
 
“Kansas City has distinguished itself as a championship city during the past several years,” said MIAA Commissioner Mike Racy. “The MIAA is proud to partner with the KC Sports Commission to bring the Division II Championships Festival to Kansas City in 2026!”
 
The 2026 Fall Festival in Kansas City will include the following Division II Championships:

• The 2026 Division II Field Hockey Championship, hosted at Pembroke Hill School in Kansas City, Mo.
• The 2026 Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships, hosted at Kansas University’s Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan.
• The 2026 Division II Men's and Women's Soccer Championships, hosted at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
• 2026 Division II Women's Volleyball Championship, hosted at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo.

Division II is the only NCAA division that conducts “National Championships Festivals” – Olympic-style events in which several national championships are held at a single site over several days. The festivals are held on a rotational basis for the fall, winter and spring sports seasons, giving student-athletes a competitive opportunity to experience at least one during their intercollegiate athletics career. The concept was developed in the early 2000s as a way to provide student-athletes with a championship experience that exceeds what they normally would enjoy in their conference or NCAA postseason events.
 
The 2026 edition will be the sixth Fall Festival conducted by NCAA Division II. The first festival in Pensacola, Florida took place in 2006.
 
The year 2026 will be a historic sports year for Kansas City. The city was also named a FIFA World Cup 2026 host city with matches to be held at the Kansas City Chiefs’ GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City will also host the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s College Cup at CPKC Stadium, the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship and the 2027 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Midwest Regional at Kansas City’s T-Moblie Center.
 
For a complete list of the 2026-2028 NCAA championship sites, click here. To find more information on the Division II Championships Festival, click here.