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Michigan State Bidding To Host NCAA Tournament First Four In Grand Rapids

Michigan State University, in conjunction with the city of Grand Rapids, has put in a bid to the NCAA to host the First Four in 2014 or 2015 at Van Andel Arena.

By Bryan Kilpatrick
Getty Images

Michigan State University has put in a big to host the First Four of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in 2014 or 2015, according to MLive's Diamond Leung. If the bid were to be accepted, the games would take place Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.

NCAA championships director Ron English is scheduled to tour the facility on Friday, as well as evaluate the amenities provided by the arena and city. The city previously put in bids to host the tournament for 2011, 2012 and 2013. The NCAA did not visit the city in any of those cases, so the fact that English is planning a trip this time is a good start, according to Grand Rapids businessman Peter Secchia.

The First Four, which are the NCAA Tournament's play-in games to kickoff the event, has been held in Dayton, Ohio in each of its first two years of existence, and will once again in 2013.

For more on the Spartans, be sure to visit The Only Colors. And, for additional news and analysis from around the country, head over to SB Nation's NCAA Basketball hub.