BOSTON — Binghamton University will play host to the 2006 America East Men's Basketball Championship at the 5,142-seat Events Center on campus in Vestal, N.Y. Boston University will play host to the 2007 championship at the 5,687-seat Agganis Arena on its campus. The decision was reached by a vote of the conference's athletics directors on a conference call today.
The nine-team championship in 2006 begins with a first-round game on Friday, March 3. Quarterfinal and semifinal games follow on Saturday, March 4 and Sunday, March 5, respectively. The championship game will be played Saturday, March 11 at the home court of the higher remaining seed and will be televised by ESPN. The 2007 championship will include a first-round game on Friday, March 2 followed by quarterfinal and semifinal games on Saturday, March 3 and Sunday, March 4, respectively. The 2007 championship will be played Saturday, March 10 at the home court of the higher remaining seed.
"I think anyone who attended the 2005 America East Men's Basketball Championship at Binghamton University had to come away impressed with the overall quality of the event, our facilities and the treatment that the participants and spectators received," said Joel Thirer, Director of Health, Physical Education and Athletics at Binghamton. "The championship was a big financial success, which was attributable to our great fan and sponsor support. While revenue generation is not the only factor that needs to be considered, from a fiscal standpoint, the America East Conference benefits from a stronger bottom line with regard to underwriting all of the conference's services throughout the year. As a voting member, I'm evaluating both the quality of the event for our student-athletes and fans as well as the financial potential for the conference. Binghamton receives high marks on both."
The $33.1 million Events Center opened on January 31, 2004 when Binghamton hosted University of Hartford in a men's basketball game played before a then standing-room-only crowd of 4,660. Last season the Events Center drew 15,977 fans for the first three rounds of the championship with sellout crowds for one of the quarterfinal sessions and the semifinals.
The America East Men's Basketball Championship will return to Boston in 2007. The city has a long-standing tradition with America East, serving as home of the conference's headquarters. The city has hosted the America East Championship game 10 times.
"We are proud to welcome the America East Men's Basketball Championship back to Boston University and our new world-class facility, Agganis Arena," said Mike Lynch, Assistant Vice President and Director of Athletics at Boston University. "Agganis Arena serves as a showcase for Boston University, the Terrier Athletics Program and America East."
Boston University opened Agganis Arena, part of the $225 million John Hancock Student Village, on January 3, 2005 when the Terrier ice hockey team hosted Minnesota. Boston University played two men's basketball games in the arena in 2005, drawing 5,736 for a game with Vermont on February 12 and 4,316 for a game with Northeastern on February 20.
The America East 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. Binghamton hosted at the Events Center in 2005. Boston University hosted at Walter Brown Arena in 2004. Boston University and Northeastern University served as co-hosts of the championship in 2002 (at Northeastern's Matthews Arena) and in 2003 (at Boston University's Walter Brown Arena). The University of Delaware hosted the first, quarterfinal and semifinals rounds from 1996 to 2001.
America East will consist of nine teams for the 2005-06 season: University at Albany, Binghamton, Boston University, Hartford, University of Maine, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC); University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University and University of Vermont.
Game times and ticket information for the America East Men's Basketball Championship will be announced at a later date.