The VIU Mariner's men's basketball program will go after a fourth CCAA championship and do so on their home court in 2026. (Mary Kessenich)

By Dan Marshall

National Event

VIU to host 2026 CCAA men’s basketball championship

Mar 26, 2025 | 2:27 PM

NANAIMO — For the second time in four years the VIU Mariners will host a CCAA basketball national tournament.

In 2022 it was the women’s nationals that ended with a silver medal finish for the university, now the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association has awarded the Mariners the 2026 men’s nationals.

The tournament will take place March 18-21, 2026 and VIU athletic director Danielle Hyde said the work to put on the event is already underway.

“We have a great crew of staff here who love these events. It is an incredible amount of work but is so rewarding and have fun doing that work together. I’m especially excited for our men’s program to have this event on home turf.”

Some of the items on the to do list include securing hotels, sponsors and a location for the banquet.

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With a lot of experience hosting provincial and national level tournaments already Hyde believes the 2026 CCAA championship will provide a great experience for student athletes and the community.

“We will pull all of the details from past events together and weave them in to create a top notch event. We expect big crowds with such a strong local basketball community so will have to put some thought into our capacity and how to manage that.”

The men’s Mariners won previous national titles in 2019, 2013 and 1994.

Hyde expects the team on the court will be a worthy championship contender.

“The men’s basketball program is one of the top programs in the country and I really believe that as is with all of our programs. The strong leadership from the coaching staff is what makes us. They do an incredible job recruiting and bringing in the right student-athletes and have been able to do that year after year after year.”

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