For today’s Friday Flashback, we look at March Madness in Orlando.
The city has played host to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament seven times, starting in 1993 when Florida State, Evansville, Kansas State, Tulane, Western Kentucky, Memphis State, Seton Hall and Tennessee State came to town for first- and second-round games at Orlando Arena.
The old O-rena hosted the NCAAs four times, and March Madness has been at the Kia Center three times, the most recent being in 2023. Orlando is scheduled to host NCAA first- and second-round games in March 2028.
Here are some Sentinel sports pages from NCAA Tournament times in Orlando:
1993 Tournament
Orlando Sentinel coverage of the finals games of the 1993 NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games in Orlando. (Orlando Sentinel archive)
1996 Tournament
Orlando Sentinel coverage of 1996 NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games in Orlando. (Orlando Sentinel archive)
1999 Tournament
Orlando Sentinel coverage of the finals games of the 1999 NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games in Orlando. (Orlando Sentinel archive)
2004 Tournament
Orlando Sentinel coverage of the finals games of the 2004 NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games in Orlando. (Orlando Sentinel archive)
2014 Tournament
Orlando Sentinel coverage of the finals games of the 2014 NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games in Orlando. (Orlando Sentinel archive)
2017 Tournament
Orlando Sentinel coverage of the finals games of the 2017 NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games in Orlando. (Orlando Sentinel archive)
2023 Tournament
Orlando Sentinel coverage of the finals games of the 2023 NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games in Orlando. (Orlando Sentinel archive)