CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The America East Conference will host a Basketball Season Tip-Off Luncheon on Wednesday, October 28 at the Connecticut State Capitol Building in downtown Hartford.
Fran Fraschilla, current ESPN analyst and former head coach at Manhattan, St. John’s and New Mexico, will serve as emcee for the luncheon, which will be begin at 12 noon. In addition to the unveiling of the America East preseason polls and preseason all-conference teams, men’s and women’s head coaches from the league’s member institutions and conference commissioner Patrick Nero will be present. Commissioner Nero, along with select others, will speak briefly about the upcoming season. Following the short program, coaches will be available for questions.
Fans can visit AmericaEast.com on October 28 to find the coaches’ preseason selections and view live interviews with the conference’s coaches conducted by Eric Frede, who returns for another season as the voice of America East basketball. Fans can also submit questions for Eric to ask their favorite team’s head coach by clicking here or by visiting AmericaEast.com.
The America East will host its first-ever combined Men’s & Women’s Basketball Championship on University of Hartford’s campus on March 4-7. The men's basketball season gets underway on November 9, while the first women's basketball games of the 2009-10 season will be played November 13.