CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The America East Conference has chosen the University of Hartford as hosts for its 2011 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships. Just months removed from the first-ever combined men’s and women’s championship, the conference Athletic Directors chose to build off the momentum created from this past year and once again hold the tournament in Hartford.
“Our 2010 Championship in Hartford was a great experience for our teams and our fans and this drove the decision by our Athletic Directors to build off this success," said America East Commissioner Patrick Nero. “We look for 2011 to be even better.”
The 2011 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will be held on March 3-6, 2011 at The Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion on University of Hartford’s campus. The first, quarterfinal and semifinal rounds for both the men and women will be held at the combined tournament, while the title games will again both be held the following weekend at the site of highest seeds remaining.
“I am thrilled to be able to once again host the America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships in West Hartford,” said Hartford Director of Athletics Patricia H.
Meiser. “Our arena provides a unique and fan friendly environment in hosting the championship and we look forward to welcoming all nine conference schools, their teams and their fans back to campus in March.”
“I am delighted that the University of Hartford has been selected to host the combined men’s and women’s America East Conference championships for the second straight year,” said University of Hartford President Walter Harrison. “I look forward to building on last year’s success, and welcoming fans from throughout the conference back to the Greater Hartford area again.”
Both first round games will be held Thursday, March 3, while the women’s quarterfinals will follow on Friday, March 4. The men’s quarterfinals will be scheduled for Saturday, March 5 and both the men’s and women’s semifinal tilts will take place Sunday, March 6. The highest seeds remaining in both the men’s and women’s tournament will host the championship games with the men’s title game on Saturday, March 12 and the women’s final tentatively set for that same day.
The 2010 America East Championship presented by Newman’s Own drew over 17,000 fans to Chase Arena, the University’s 3,508 facility, and over 21,000 fans in total. The tournament also featured the largest title sponsor in conference history in Newman’s Own, whose Foundation also sponsored a Campus Community Challenge, which contributed more than $100,000 to organization in America East communities.
Prior to the combined format, Hartford had hosted the America East Women’s Championship seven times in the previous eight years. The women’s championship had utilized a single-site format since 1998. Maine hosted the first single-site event, followed by University of Vermont in 1999, 2000 and 2001, and Hartford in 2002-06. The tournament traveled to Binghamton in 2007 before returning to Hartford in 2008 and 2009. Last year was the first time the women’s championship had a dual site format, which helped result in a 77 percent increase in attendance from the previous season.
The America East Men’s Championship has utilized the present format of a single site for the first rounds, with the championship game played at the higher remaining seed since 1996. University at Albany’s SEFCU Arena hosted the tournament in 2009, while Binghamton University’s Event Center was the site of the championship in 2006 and 2008. Boston University hosted at Agganis Arena in 2007 and at Walter Brown Arena in 2003 and 2004, while the Terriers were a co-host in 2002 at Matthews Arena. The championship was played at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Del. from 1996 to 2001.
Hartford has attracted more than 66,000 fans to championship games at Chase Arena since 2002. The Hawks also led the conference last season, drawing an average of 1,737 fans for women’s basketball games. Chase Arena drew over 43,000 fans for home men’s and women’s basketball games during the 2009-10 regular season.