FULL AMERICA EAST RELEASE
West Hartford, Conn. – The America East Conference has chosen the University of Hartford as host for its 2012 Men's and Women's Basketball Championships to be held on March 1-4, marking the third-straight year the Hawks will host the league's premier event. The decision was made Wednesday in a vote of the nine athletics directors during the annual meetings being held in Portsmouth, N.H.
“We are thrilled that our Basketball Championship, the conference's signature event, will return to Hartford for a third straight year,” said America East Interim Commissioner Shonna Brown. “Our last two tournaments have been great experiences for our teams and fans and this will give us the opportunity to build off the excitement that has been established in Hartford and make the experience even better in 2012.”
Using a format adopted for the 2010 Championship, Hartford will host the first round, quarterfinal and semifinal games at Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. Both first round games will be held Thursday, March 1, while the women's quarterfinals will follow on Friday, March 2. The men's quarterfinals will be scheduled for Saturday, March 3 and both the men's and women's semifinal tilts will take place Sunday, March 4. 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 10 and the women's final to be determined.
“Being able to host the men's and women's basketball championship for a third-straight year is a unique opportunity,” said Patricia H. Meiser, Director of Athletics at the University of Hartford. “I am thrilled that the conference would like to continue to build off of the momentum from the past two conference championships held at Hartford. This opportunity is very much made possible because of the support from the campus and the community. 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.”
The last two America East Championships, which were presented by Newman's Own, have drawn nearly 30,000 fans to Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion, the University's 3,508-seat facility. The last two tournaments have also featured the largest title sponsor in conference history in Newman's Own, whose Foundation also sponsored a Campus Community Challenge, which has contributed more than $200,000 to organizations in America East communities over the last two years.
Hartford has attracted more than 78,000 fans to championship games at Chase Arena since 2002, having hosted seven of the previous eight women's championships prior to the combined format. The Hawks also led the conference last season in average attendance, drawing an average of 1,327 fans for women's basketball games. Chase Arena drew over 26,000 fans for home men's and women's basketball games during the 2010-11 regular season.
