INDIANAPOLIS -- The head of the NCAA's committee for selecting Final Four sites says there were no sure bets when the group got down to picking cities.

The final list, though, did not look like it.

Two regular stops for the men's basketball Final Four -- San Antonio and Indianapolis -- were on the list released Tuesday, along with newcomers Detroit and Houston to host college basketball's premier event between 2008 and 2011.

The selections of San Antonio and Indianapolis were almost expected. Indianapolis has been the host of Final Fours in 1980, 1991, 1997, 2000 and is now scheduled to have the even again in 2006 and 2010. Tuesday's selection of the city, however, was the first one announced since the NCAA moved its headquarters to Indianapolis in 1999.

The RCA Dome in Indianapolis also has the women's Final Four in 2005.

San Antonio was host to its first tournament in the Alamodome in 1998 and is slated to have the event again in 2004 and now 2008. It also was awarded the women's Final Four in 2010.

"There is no league, per se,'' said Jim Livengood, chairman of the men's basketball committee. "You'd like to have a four or five-year gap with every city, but there's nothing magical about that.''

One of the old standbys, New Orleans, was left off the list. St. Louis was the other city that had pursued the Final Four but not chosen.

Both cities will have first- and second-round games in 2007 and 2008, and Livengood said he expected both to bid for future Final Fours.

Houston will be the Final Four's host in 2011, on the 40th anniversary of the city's first Final Four. The last time, the games were played in the Astrodome. This time, they will be played at Reliant Stadium.

The NCAA also selected Detroit's Ford Field, home of the NFL's Lions, for the 2009 Final Four even though no major non-football events have been held there since it opened last fall.

"We feel there's a lot of basketball tradition in Michigan, a tremendous commitment to its corporate entities and it's bid was very focused,'' Livengood said. "We wanted to stay as diversified as we could.''

The NCAA also chose the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., as the women's host site in 2008 and St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome host for the 2009 women's tournament. Denver was the only city to bid that was not selected.

Women's basketball committee chairwoman Cheryl Marra said the selection group was looking for flexibility in facilities so the tournament could grow and for that reason selected dome sites in San Antonio and St. Louis.

Tampa was chosen, in part, because it could seat more people than Denver, she said.

"We're very excited with the interest shown out there and it was an extremely difficult decision,'' Marra said. "My sense is Denver will come back in the queue and have a good shot at getting it.''