Goodnight, NCAA Tournament. Sweet 16 dreams to Creighton and Gonzaga.

A whirlwind of an event wrapped Sunday without a hitch, proving once again Denver’s ability to mobilize as a host city and provide a blueprint for the NCAA’s return in 2025.

“Denver has been an awesome host,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said after his team topped Baylor to advance to the Sweet 16.

Gonzaga followed the Bluejays into the next round about two hours later, dispatching TCU.

Each of the three sessions drew more than 19,000 fans. Among the eight host cities, only Columbus, Ohio, drew more.

The event saw the better-seeded team win five of the six games (Creighton’s win as the No. 6 seed over the No. 3 Bears was the lone upset). Only one game was decided in the final minute, TCU’s thrilling 72-70 win over Arizona State on JaKobe Cole’s runner with 1.5 seconds remaining.

But Denver’s control over this event took place off the court, and it escaped unscathed, something that is no given. In Greensboro, N.C., Iowa State complained before the game that a rim seemed crooked. Officials took a look, and sure enough, it was off and had to be corrected.

“Nothing like that here,” said Mountain West Associate Commissioner Javan Hedlund. “It’s been seamless.”

Much of that credit goes to the team from the Colorado Springs-based Mountain West, which served as the host. The conference sent all 21 of its staff members plus an army of roughly 150 volunteers from Air Force, Colorado State, the University of Denver and Wyoming to handle everything from media relations to statistics to assisting school bands with logistics.

Hedlund has done this before, hosting NCAA Tournaments here in 2004, 2008, 2011 and 2016. Denver was supposed to host a regional in 2020 before it was canceled by COVID-19. That staff also worked the women’s Final Four in 2012.

Those experiences have taught Hedlund to take note of where improvements could be made for the next time.

This year’s list of notes includes only minor details like outdoor signage directing media to the entrance.

“All little things,” he said.

The big things were handled by the Ball Arena staff, which helped empty and re-admit fans in just 35 minutes between sessions on Friday. Spectators were in their seats an hour before Gonzaga and Grand Canyon tipped off to begin the evening’s round of games.

“Unheard of,” Hedlund said of the speed.

And there was the community of Denver, which gobbled up seats quickly when they went on sale in January.

This is the same city that mobilized on three months’ notice and brought 49,184 to the 2021 MLB All-Star Game after it was moved from Atlanta to Denver for political reasons. That was the largest crowd to see an All-Star game since 2008.

When the NCAA Tournament comes again it will again be for the first two rounds.

The only difference will be the floor. This one saw its final action when Gonzaga finished off its win around 10:10 p.m. The floor was to be torn out after the game as the arena quickly transformed back into a hockey venue by 8 a.m. for an Avalanche game on Monday.

Miles of electrical and ethernet cords had to be collected, decorations removed from walls and locker rooms and, in general, evidence of the madness was set to be erased. For now.

A new floor will be in place in March 2025. The plan is for everything else to stay the same.

No reason to change what’s working.

Coming soon to Colorado

BMW Championship, Aug. 2004: Castle Pines will appear on the PGA calendar for the first time since its 21-year run as a tour spot ended in 2006.

NCAA Tournament first and second rounds, March 2025: March Madness will return to Ball Arena for the fourth time in a span of 20 years – 2011, 2016, 2023.

U.S. Senior Open Championship, June 2025: The USGA will bring its senior national championship to The Broadmoor, the third time the historic course in Colorado Springs has hosted the event.