BOSTON — The Hartford men's basketball team's America East slate has been announced. The reigning America East Champions will play an 18-game conference slate in 2021-22, with nine of those contests set to be played inside Reich Family Pavilion at Chase Arena. 

Click HERE to view the full 2021-22 America East Slate.
 
Hartford begins the defense of its America East Title at home, when it opens the league slate against Stony Brook on Sunday, Jan. 2. Three days later, the Hawks head north to face Maine on Wednesday, Jan. 5. The busy opening week — which features three games over a seven-day stretch — concludes on Saturday, Jan. 8, when Hartford returns home to host Vermont.
 
The rivalry between the Hawks and Catamounts has become a heated one over the years. Last season, Hartford knocked off Vermont — which has won at least a share of the past five America East Regular-Season Championships — in the semifinals of the conference playoffs.
 
The opening month of conference play continues with back-to-back road dates. The Hawks kick off that stretch with a trip to Binghamton on Wednesday, Jan. 12, before they head to UMass Lowell on Saturday, Jan. 15, to face the River Hawks in a rematch of the 2021 America East Championship Game. 
 
Hartford is slated for three more home dates in January, as the Hawks host New Hampshire (Wednesday, Jan. 19), Binghamton (Wednesday, Jan. 26) and UMass Lowell (Jan. 29). During that stretch, the Hawks will also head to Burlington, Vt., to wrap up the regular-season series with Vermont on Saturday, Jan. 22.
 
The second month of the league action is road-heavy for Hartford, as three of the first four games of February are slated to be played away from West Hartford. Included in that span are dates at New Hampshire (Wednesday, Feb. 2), UMBC (Wednesday, Feb. 9) and the program's first-ever trip to NJIT (Saturday, Feb. 12).
 
Three of the next four contests land Hartford back in West Hartford, beginning with a home tilt against Maine on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Following a trip to Stony Brook on Saturday, Feb. 19, the Hawks wrap up the home portion of their regular-season slate against UMBC (Wednesday, Feb. 16) and NJIT (Saturday, Feb. 26). The conference docket will conclude on the road at UAlbany on Tuesday, March 1.
 
The America East Playoffs will get underway with the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 5. The semifinal round will follow on Tuesday, March 8, with the Championship Game set to be played on Saturday, March 12. 
 
Last season, the Hawks made program history under head coach John Gallagher when they captured their first-ever America East Championship and made their NCAA Tournament debut. Hartford fell to top-seeded Baylor, the eventual NCAA National Champion, in the Opening Round of the Big Dance.
 
In a 2020-21 campaign that was abbreviated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hartford went 15-9 overall to finish with the best winning percentage in the 37-year Division I history of the program (.625). The Hawks posted an 8-6 record against league foes, and made their historic run through the league's postseason tournament as the No. 4 seed.