Cambridge, Mass. -
University at Albany's SEFCU Arena will host the 2013 America East
Men's & Women's Basketball Championship. The league's Athletic Directors
voted to send the combined tournament to Albany for the first time on Thursday
morning.
"The first three years of the combined basketball championship
have been a great success and we are excited to take the 2013 tournament to
Albany," America East Commissioner Amy Huchthausen said. "Albany served as a
great host for the 2009 men's championship, one of our most successful in recent
memory, and will no doubt be so again in 2013."
The 2013 America East Men's and
Women's Basketball Championships will be held on March 7-10, 2013 at SEFCU
Arena, a 4,538-seat facility on the UAlbany 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 the highest remaining seeds.
"We are thrilled that the
University at Albany has been chosen by the membership to host this
championship," said UAlbany Vice President & Director of Athletics Lee
McElroy. "Our staff looks forward to building on the standard that Hartford has
created hosting the combined tournament during the last three years and promise
to provide a first-class tournament for America East, its schools,
student-athletes and fans, as well as the Capital Region."
This will be the
fourth straight year the league's men's and women's tournaments have been
combined at one site. The first three combined championships drew nearly 43,000
fans.
"Hartford has set a high standard for
this tournament and as a result, the positive response we have received from our
schools and fans on the current format has been overwhelming," continued
Huchthausen. "That standard, combined with the talent our teams have coming back
next season and the passion for basketball that exists in the Capital Region,
sets us up to have a tremendous tournament in 2013."
Following the same
format as the last three years, both first round games will be held Thursday,
March 7, while the women's quarterfinals will follow on Friday, March 8. The
men's quarterfinals will be scheduled for Saturday, March 9 and both the men's
and women's semifinal tilts will take place Sunday, March 10. 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 16 and the women's final
tentatively set for that same day.
While this will be the first time
SEFCU Arena hosts the conference's combined championship, the building is no
stranger towards hosting America East Championships. The building, which, opened
in the spring of 1992 as an $11 million state-of-the-art facility, hosted the
2009 Men's Basketball Championship and drew nearly 15,000 fans, the second-most
since 2002. SEFCU Arena, formerly the Recreation & Convocation Center, also
hosted the 2006 men's championship game, as well as the 2012 women's
championship game, which drew more fans than any league title contest since
2006.
Ticket information for the 2013 America
East Men's & Women's Basketball Championship will be announced at a later
date.
Press release & photo provided by UAlbany Athletics Sports Information
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment