The Women's Final Four, which played to sellout crowds at the St. Pete Times Forum in April, will be back in town in seven years, as the NCAA announced Friday that the marquee event will return to Tampa in 2015.

The NCAA announced the host cities for 2012-16, with Denver, New Orleans, Nashville, Tampa and Indianapolis chosen from a group of eight finalists. USF will be the host school, as the Bulls were for this year's event, which saw Tennessee beat Stanford to repeat as national champions.

"The city has proven to be a terrific host ... we were very impressed" by this year's event, said Jacki Silar, chair of the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee and associate athletic director at Duke University. "Tampa has an outstanding history of hosting major sports events."

Rob Higgins, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, said local organizers had specifically targeted the 2015 event, which falls on Easter weekend, traditionally a slow economic weekend for tourism revenues.

"It's a phenomenal event, and to be able to host it a second time is truly amazing," Higgins said. "This announcement validates a lot of what was accomplished here in 2008."

The cities were chosen from eight finalists -- those not selected were Dallas, San Antonio and Columbus, Ohio.

"The women’s basketball committee
invested a tremendous amount of time and effort in the Women's Final
Four site selection process," Silar said in a statement.  "It was a very difficult and important
decision and it was the committee's charge to determine which of the
cities would best serve as future host sites for the pinnacle of
women's basketball – the Women's Final Four."

An NCAA study released in August found that this year's Women's Final Four made a direct economic impact of $19.1-million on the Tampa area. The study found the event drew 22,595 visitors to the area, with the average visitor staying 4.2 days and spending an average of $208 per day.

Tampa is hosting this year's ACC football championship on Dec. 6,
the upcoming Super Bowl in February and the SEC men's basketball
tournament in March. The St. Pete Times Forum hosted the ACC men's
basketball tournament, the first round of the NCAA men's basketball
tournament and the Women's Final Four this past spring. Future events
include the 2009 NCAA volleyball championships and the 2012 NCAA hockey
"Frozen Four."