By March 23, the PMAC will be transformed from LSU’s home venue into a celebration of one of sports’ richest traditions: March Madness.

The PMAC, along with 15 other arenas around the country, will play host to the first and second rounds of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. This is the seventh time the tournament will come to Baton Rouge since the event expanded to its current 64-team format in 1994.

But this transformation is a long process that takes place almost exclusively behind the scenes.

According to LSU Event Management Coordinator Julie Cribbs, the process began in 2011 when the Athletic Department bid to host the 2012 and 2013 tournaments. This bid is a series of forms focusing primarily on the budget.

“We basically put in one column all of our expenses and in the other our projected ticket sales,” Cribbs said. “… [The NCAA] obviously want a venue that can sell enough tickets to cover their cost and still make some revenue, which approximately 75 percent of goes to the NCAA.”

According to Cribbs, LSU began preparing for the 2013 NCAA tournament in April of last year when it started transferring between LSU and the NCAA through the NCAA’s website.

“For example, our marketing department and ticket office have been uploading ticket sales numbers and marketing plans to the [NCAA’s] site the first of every month since September,” Cribbs said.

This website is where LSU receives the templates and information in order do such tasks as order staff apparel, produce the team manuals and print the tournament operations manual.

Cribbs said the process will begin to take shape on March 1 when shipments start arriving. This shipments will contain everything necessary to put on the event from the basketballs and bench chairs to the drinking cups for the fans.

“We are also securing hotel rooms and courtesy cars for NCAA representatives, teams and officials,” Cribbs said.

This is also the point in which the PMAC will undergo a makeover in order for it to meet NCAA standards. This involves replacing floor decals, hanging drapes and placing advertisements.

So why go through all this trouble? Other than the obvious chance for the Lady Tigers to play a couple of tournament games in front of a home crowd, Cribbs said it is always good to get national attention.

“[One] reason for hosting is to keep LSU in the national light,” Cribbs said. “Whether [the Lady Tigers] are playing or not, all of the games will be televised by ESPN through their contract with the NCAA.”

“[One] reason for hosting is to keep LSU in the national light. Whether [the Lady Tigers] are playing or not, all of the games will be televised by ESPN through their contract with the NCAA.”