Hickory hosts NJCAA Division II women’s championship, boosts local economy

Hickory’s return as host of the NJCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Championship generated an estimated direct economic impact of nearly $1 million for the Hickory Metro area, giving the weeklong tournament a measurable payoff beyond the bracket. Visit Hickory tied the figure to attendance estimates, hotel usage and regional visitor spending averages supplied through the Western Piedmont Council of Governments, with spending flowing into lodging, dining, retail, transportation and other visitor-related activity.

The championship brought 20 teams to Hickory, North Carolina, for a run that stretched from March 16 through March 21, with teams arriving the day before for an opening banquet on Sunday, March 15. NJCAA photo-gallery listings show the tournament included 25 games, with the championship game and third-place game played March 21 at Catawba Valley Community College’s Tarlton Complex, where the action unfolded through a double-elimination format.

The field reflected the national reach that makes the event such a strong fit for Hickory. NJCAA said the championship returned to the city for the first time since 2020 and featured teams from across the country, including programs traveling from Arizona, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois and Maryland, along with other states. The selection-show coverage, posted March 10, described the field as loaded, a fitting label for a bracket that kept national-title contention alive deep into the week.

The championship also reinforced Hickory’s role as a repeat basketball destination. The event was staged in partnership with the NJCAA, Visit Hickory, the Hickory Metro Convention Center, Catawba Valley Community College and the Hickory Metro Sports Commission, and opening-banquet remarks from CVCC athletic director Tisha England helped frame the tournament as both a competitive showcase and a community project. Local leaders Nicholas Schroeder, Mark Seaman and Mandy Pitts Hildebrand also pointed to the event as a successful collaboration and a national stage for Hickory.

For CVCC, the fit runs deeper than a one-off hosting assignment. The college competes in NJCAA Division II women’s basketball, which helps explain why Hickory and its facilities keep surfacing as a natural landing spot for the women’s championship. The larger tourism picture is already substantial in Catawba County, where Visit Hickory reported domestic and international visitors spent $348.22 million in 2023. Against that backdrop, the championship’s near-$1 million impact showed how a national tournament can boost a host city’s profile while driving real spending through its local economy.