At the same time the Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday that its tentpole football game would remain in Indianapolis, it also awarded Minneapolis multiple postseason basketball tournaments, including the first-ever men’s tournament played in the Minnesota capital.
COVID-19 and the scheduling rethink it forced led to back-to-back Big Ten tournaments (men’s and women’s) being held in Indianapolis. The 2021 tournaments had been slated for Chicago, before safety protocols and efficiency concerns led the conference to pivot to Indy. The Big Ten elected to keep the 2022 tournaments on their previously arranged schedule at Gainbridge Fieldhouse the following year.