TUSCALOOSA | The 2014 NCAA women's gymnastics championships will be held in Birmingham, with the University of Alabama as the host institution.

The event will be held April 18-20 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.

Alabama is the two-time defending national champion heading into the 2013 season. The 2013 championship meet will be held in Los Angeles.

"We are very excited to have the NCAA Championships return to the state of Alabama in 2014," UA coach Sarah Patterson said in a press release. "The Alabama Sports Foundation and the Bruno Event Team have always done a tremendous job with the national events they've brought to the area. Each of the Southeastern Conference gymnastics championships they've hosted in Birmingham have been first-class events both for the fans and the participants, and I know this will be no different."

Alabama is a regular national leader in gymnastics attendance. UA has averaged more than 10,000 fans for home meets every year since 2004.

"The attendance we've enjoyed in Tuscaloosa, combined with the crowds the SEC Championships have drawn when they've been in Birmingham, has been amazing," Patterson said, "which is just one of the reasons why I can't wait to have this competition back in Alabama."

The NCAA championship event has been held in Tuscaloosa in 1991, 1996 and 2002. Auburn hosted in 2005.