The CCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship is set to head north.

Fort McMurrays's Keyano College of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference will host the event March 16-19, 2016.

“We are very excited to host the National Championship,” said Wade Kolmel, Keyano's Director of Sport & Student Wellness. “Our men’s basketball team attended the National Championship at John Abbott College in 2013 and from that point forward we have made every effort to present ourselves as potential hosts.”

Keyano College, a five-hour drive north of Edmonton, is the most northern college among the 94 CCAA members. The institution, located in the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo, is an integral part of one of the fastest-growing communities in the country.

In 2015, the Year of Sport in Canada, the Wood Buffalo region hosted several events including the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games in August. Keyano College also hosted the 2015 ACAC Men’s Soccer Championship and is familiar with the responsibilities of hosting a CCAA event having hosted a successful 2009 Men’s Volleyball National Championship.

“Wood Buffalo is an emerging ‘Sport Tourism’ destination and the athletes/coaches involved in the 2016 National Championship will benefit from participating within a regional municipality that will be welcoming, hospitable and strongly resourced from a facility and amenity perspective,” said Kolmel.