Final Four is a sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably the NCAA Division I college basketball tournament. Typically it refers to a tournament format where four teams play two rounds of single-elimination games, resulting in a single champion. The term is most often used in the United States and in sports heavily influenced by that country; elsewhere the stage is called the "semi-finals" (which is also used in the U.S.). The term is a registered trademark of the NCAA, so no other US organizations can use the phrase to refer to their tournaments. The oldest and most common use of the term is in reference to the final four teams in the annual NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship and the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship. Each Final Four team is also the regional champion from either the East, South, Midwest or West regions of the tournament.

Final Four can also refer to:

In sports:

• The Final Four of the Euroleague basketball competition
• The Final Four of the NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship
• The Frozen Four, the final two rounds of each of the four NCAA Ice Hockey Championships
• The teams in the semifinal round of tournaments in college basketball in the Philippines, and, by analogy, other college sports in that country
  • UAAP Final Four

In television:

• The last four contenders in StarStruck, a Philippine TV series
• The last four contestants on many reality shows, such as Survivor

[edit] External links

• NCAA official website
• 2009 Final Four Info & Schedule