Championships will be at stake as well as bids to the NCAA tournament when Conference USA brings its men’s and women’s season-ending tournaments to Huntsville.

The league, which will add Jacksonville State this summer, announced plans Thursday to hold its tournaments at the Von Braun Center’s Propst Arena in both 2024 and 2025 with an opportunity to extend.

Related: How Huntsville is working to bring bigger sporting events to Rocket City

The tournaments will be a partnership between the league and the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Huntsville Sports Commission and Knight Eady.

“We are very excited to have our men’s and women’s basketball teams compete for a conference championship and berth in the NCAA tournament at Propst Arena in Huntsville,” Conference USA Commission Judy MacLeod said in the announcement. “We can’t wait to get started partnering with the team from the City, Sports Commission, CVB and Knight Eady to put on a first-class event for our student-athletes, universities and fans while enjoying all Huntsville has to offer.”

It’s a step up in sports tourism in Huntsville, a $32 million industry last year that has largely focused on attracting non-ticket-driven events such as college cross country meets and youth soccer and swim events that nevertheless fill restaurants and hotels. But sports officials have made clear their desire to bring a college basketball tournament to the VBC and achieved that objective with Conference USA.

The 2024 tournaments will be held March 12-16 and the champions will receive automatic berths to the NCAA tournament. The Dallas-based league is undergoing a transformation amid conference realignments. Surprise Final Four participant Florida Atlantic came out of Conference USA as well as NIT runner-up UAB. Both are departing for the American Athletic Conference for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Jacksonville State is moving from the Atlantic Sun Conference to Conference USA. Other schools in the conference are Florida International, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston State, UTEP and Western Kentucky. Kennesaw State, which played in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament this year, will join the league in 2024.

“Bringing a piece of March Madness to Huntsville has been a goal for our community and this is a great opportunity to have the road to the Final Four start here,” Joel Lamp, Sports Manager for the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said in the announcement. “Conference USA has a national brand that will provide a larger platform for Huntsville to shine. This has been a tremendous team effort from all of our partners and we appreciate the confidence the Conference USA leadership has in our vision to provide a championship experience at Propst Arena.”

Huntsville will be the ninth location to host the C-USA men’s basketball championship and the 14th host city for the C-USA women’s basketball championship. Both championships have been held in Alabama previously, from 2015-17, in Birmingham at Legacy Arena (men’s and women’s) and Bartow Arena for the women’s championship in 1996.

“Providing an exciting and enjoyable championship atmosphere for the student- athletes is our top priority, and I believe all of the teams traveling to the Rocket City will love their experience here,” Mark Russell, Executive Director of the Huntsville Sports Commission, said in the announcement. “Huntsville is a great destination – not just to visit, but for sports– and I’m thrilled Conference USA is entrusting our team to host a high caliber event like the C-USA Basketball Championships here. We can’t wait!”

Ticket information will be available in the fall.

“We are proud to welcome the Conference USA men’s and women’s basketball championships to Huntsville and our renovated Propst Arena,” Mayor Tommy Battle said in the announcement. “March Madness will be starting in the Rocket City next year and we can’t wait to showcase our great city to all the student-athletes, coaches, fans, and alumni attending the event.”

Knight Eady, a sports marketing firm in Birmingham, is familiar to the Huntsville sports scene. It brought the Korn Ferry golf tour championship to Huntsville two years ago. Cline Thompson, the firm’s vice president of business development, noted Huntsville’s 2022 designation by U.S. News & World Report as the best place to live in the country.

“Knight Eady is proud to support the Huntsville Sports Commission and the Huntsville/Madison County CVB in hosting elite basketball in the city of Huntsville,” Thompson said in the announcement. “We believe sport has the power to change lives and impact communities in valuable ways. Our goal is to create an experience for the student-athletes, Conference USA and the fans that matches the premium standard of Huntsville. There’s a reason it is recognized as the top ranked city in the country.”