Will The Frozen Four Return To Boston?

When the bidding process for hosting future NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Frozen Four comes up later this summer, looks like there is an increasing amount of support to bring the event back to the city of Boston. Steve Nazro, the director of events for TD Garden, is "definitely interested" in bringing the event back to the Hub. Kristin Fasbender, the NCAA associate director of championships and alliances, said the committee would welcome a bid application from Boston.

Boston last hosted the Frozen Four in 2004, an event where two Hockey East teams (Boston College and Maine) made it to the sport's final weekend. However, the NCAA hasn't been back since, with the city putting in unsuccessful bids for both the 2005 and 2009 cycles.

Over the last three years, the event has been awarded to Tampa (2012), Pittsburgh (2013) and Philadelphia (2014). With the Frozen Four "back east" in back-to-back-to-back years -- though can't we technically claim Tampa as being hosted by the WCHA? -- I'd imagine the earliest Boston would host again is in 2016.

In recent years, however, the NCAA has gone a little too first year host happy, with Columbus, St. Louis, Washington DC, Tampa, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia all serving as first year host cities in the decade following Boston's last Frozen Four. While I'd expect more first year hosts to bid on the next round -- cities like Nashville and Kansas City -- the NCAA is doing something wrong if they don't award one of the next Frozen Fours to the actual "center of the college hockey universe."