It will be a busy week for officials at Drake University. Not only did the Bulldog men’s and women’s basketball teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament but the school is serving as host of first and second round games in Des Moines beginning Thursday.
James Ericson is Drake’s Assistant Athletic Director of Facilities and will serve as tournament manager at Wells Fargo Arena.
Ericson says during the planning stages they prepared for a situation where staff members would be following the men’s and women’s teams out of town.
Ericson says it has not been difficult to find workers or volunteers.
Drake is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and Ericson says the conference is helping out with some staffing needs. Ericson says the transformation of Wells Fargo Arena begins Monday afternoon following an Iowa Wolves basketball game.
Kansas, Texas, Texas A@M and Illinois are four of the eight teams who will be competing in Des Moines this week. It is the third time the city has hosted the NCAA men’s tournament.
