CAMBRIDGE, Mass.? The University of Hartford will host the 2009 America East Women’s Basketball Tournament, the seventh time in the last eight years the event has been held at the 3,506-seat Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion. The decision was reached by the conference’s athletics directors. Click here to download PDF Release.
The nine-team tournament in 2009 begins with a first-round game on Thursday, March 12. Quarterfinal and semifinal games follow on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14, respectively. The championship game will be played Sunday, March 15. All semifinal games as well as the championship games will be produced by America East and ESPN Regional Television.
“We are proud to host the America East Women’s Basketball Championship for the seventh time in the past eight years,” said Patricia H. Meiser, Director of Athletics and Special Assistant to the President at Hartford. “Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion provides a wonderful home for the women’s basketball championship. Hartford’s fan support is among the best in the conference and we look forward to showcasing America East basketball at the highest levels.”
“America East Conference is excited to announce that Hartford will be host to our women’s basketball championship in 2009,” said Patrick Nero, America East Commissioner. “Having hosted the women’s tournament on six different occasions since 2002, the people at Hartford have shown their commitment to running the conference’s premier event in a first-class manner. We look forward to sharing in the excitement of this tournament with the women’s basketball program, the staff, the school and the fans at the University of Hartford.”
Hartford has attracted more than 40,000 fans to Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion from 2002-06 and then 2008 as host of America East Women’s Basketball Championship. Over 7,200 fans alone watched the 2008 tournament from inside Chase Arena. The Hawks drew nearly 21,000 fans to campus last season for 12 home games.
America East has enjoyed tremendous success in women’s basketball in recent years. Hartford, the reigning America East Champions, became just the second team in league history to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament with an upset win over Temple in 2006, and repeated that feat with a victory over Syracuse in 2008. Vermont also advanced in postseason play, defeating Dartmouth in the first round of the WNIT in 2008. Last season marked the first time in conference history that multiple teams won games in posteason women’s basketball action.
The America East Tournament has utilized a single-site format since 1998. Maine hosted the event the first season, 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 last year.
America East will consist of nine teams for the 2008-09 season: University at Albany, Binghamton, Boston University, Hartford, Maine, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC); University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University and Vermont.
Game times and ticket information for the America East Women’s Basketball Tournament will be announced at a later date.