ALBANY -- NCAA Tournament hockey is returning to the Times Union Center. So is NCAA women's basketball.

The NCAA announced today that the 2016 Hockey Tournament's East Regional will be played at the downtown arena.

March 28-31, 2015, the NCAA Women's Basketball East Regional championship will be held at the TU Center, with the winner advancing to the Final Four in Tampa.

It will mark the first time Albany has hosted an NCAA women's event.

"We're excited," said TU Center General Manager Bob Belber. "We're going to put on two excellent events for local fans in men's hockey and women's basketball and for the teams, players and coaches and their fans."
The other regional sites for the 2016 are Providence, Cincinnati and Fargo, with the Frozen Four at TD Bank Boston Garden.

The TU Center has hosted NCAA hockey events seven times in the past, the latest being 2010, and housed the 2001 Frozen Four, in which Boston College beat North Dakota, 3-2, to win the national championship.