Limestone University Hosting NCAA Div. II Field Hockey Final Four, National Title Game

The City of Gaffney and Cherokee County will undoubtedly feel the positive impact this weekend as Limestone University hosts the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Final Four and National Championship Game at Saints Field.

The four teams headed to Limestone, including three from Pennsylvania and one from New Hampshire, will arrive this Thursday, Nov. 21. In addition to practice sessions at Saints Field and Jerry Richardson Field, the four teams will also be visiting local elementary schools including B.D. Lee, Draytonville, Limestone Central, and Northwest. The players will engage with the students about the sport of field hockey and handout gifts from the NCAA.

The Final Four takes place on Friday, Nov. 22, with No.1-seed Shippensburg University (PA) taking on No.4-seed Kutztown University (PA) at 2 p.m. on Saints Field That will be followed by the 5 p.m. semifinal matchup between No.3-seed East Stroudsburg University (PA) and No.7-seed St. Anselm College (NH).

The two winners will square off at Saints Field on Sunday, Nov. 24, at 1 p.m., for the National Championship.

Admission each day is $5 for college students and $10 for the general public.

The NCAA announced in 2020 that Limestone, in partnership with OneSpartanburg, Inc., would serve as the host site for the 2024 Division II Field Hockey Final Four and National Championship. Spartanburg was awarded both the Division II Field Hockey Championship and the Div. III Men's and Women's Cross Country National Championships in 2024 and was selected to host the Div. II Men's and Women's Cross Country Southeast Regional. The cross country events will be held at the Roger Milliken Center in Spartanburg.

“We are tremendously honored to be hosting the 2024 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Final Four and National Championship here on our campus, utilizing our incredible facilities at the Bob Prevatte Athletic Complex,” said Limestone’s Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Hailey Martin. “This will enable us to showcase Limestone on a national stage, and it will have a positive economic impact on Gaffney and Cherokee County. We fully expect the hotels, restaurants, and other businesses to be exceptionally busy starting in the next few days.

“Field Hockey is one of the fastest growing sports across the nation and the world,” Martin continued. “Our very own team here at Limestone won the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship and qualified for this year’s National Championship. We came up one goal short against Shippensburg in the first round and just missed advancing into the Final Four here on our campus. We are incredibly proud of what our team accomplished this season, including an amazing overall record of 14-6.”

OneSpartanburg, Inc., formerly known as the Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, submitted 33 bids to bring NCAA events to Spartanburg. The NCAA sifted through over 3,000 bids from cities across the nation to host 86 different championship events to be held between the years 2022 and 2025.

Bidding for the 86 of 90 NCAA championships began in August 2019, resulting in the largest host site announcement ever across a four-year cycle. Previously, selection announcement varied by sport. Each sport committee, per division, selected the host sites it believed would provide the ultimate experience for the respective student-athletes, resulting in more than 450 championship event sites being awarded.

More than 54,000 student-athletes across all three divisions compete in NCAA championships each year.

“We are grateful for the partnership with Limestone University in hosting these NCAA national championships,” said Timothy Bush, OneSpartanburg, Inc. Chief Tourism Development Officer, at the time the Field Hockey bid was awarded to Limestone. “These prestigious events will have a major economic impact on the Upstate region.”