CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- The America East Conference office released its 2010-11 championship schedule on Tuesday, August 3, highlighted by the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship held at University of Hartford’s Chase Family Arena on March 3-6. The league will host championship events in 20 sports with 11 America East champions receiving automatic berths into the NCAA Tournament.
The men’s and women’s basketball championships will be held in a combined format for the second straight year after a successful combined 2010 tournament. The title games will both be held the following week at the site of the highest remaining seeds. The men’s championship game will be on Saturday, March 12, with the women’s title tilt to be announced at a later date.
Franklin Park in Boston, also site of the New England Championships, will welcome all 18 America East men’s and women’s cross country squads on October 30 for the first conference championship of the 2010-11 year. Boston University will serve as the meet’s host.
Both men’s and women’s soccer tournaments, featuring six-team fields, are held at the highest seeds in each round. The women’s championship kicks off with quarterfinals on Thursday, October 28 and continues with the semifinals on Sunday, October 31 and the final the following weekend. The men’s championship begins on Saturday, November 6 with the quarterfinals, while the semifinal round will be on Wednesday, November 10. The champion will be crowned that weekend, on either November 13 or 14.
The field hockey semifinals and finals will be held at the highest seed’s artificial turf field on Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 6, while the volleyball tournament will be held at the top seed’s gym on November 19-20 or 20-21. Both championships include the top four teams from the regular season.
UMBC will host the 2011 swimming and diving championship on February 17-20 at the Germantown Indoor Swim Center. The Retrievers serve as hosts of the swim meet for the first time since 2005. Boston University will host the indoor track and field championship the same weekend (February 18-19) at the Track & Tennis Center on campus.
The men’s lacrosse championship is slated for Wednesday, May 4 and Saturday, May 7 with each semifinal round, as well as the final, to be held on the highest remaining seed’s field. The women’s lacrosse tournament will also be held that week, on Thursday and Saturday. Both tournaments will feature the top four teams from the regular season.
The conference will once again host the men’s and women’s tennis championship event in New Haven, Connecticut on April 29-May 1. The following weekend, the outdoor track & field meet will be held at UMBC Stadium in Baltimore, May 7-8.
The softball championship, a four-team, double-elimination tournament, will be on the highest seed’s diamond May 12-14, while the baseball championship will be held May 25-27 in the same format.
Select championship dates are still subject to change to accommodate television. Please visit www.AmericaEast.com for the latest information on championship schedules and coverage.
About the America East Conference: Into its fourth decade of operation, America East has evolved into one of the most comprehensive NCAA Division I conferences with a commitment to broad-based, competitive athletics programs, complementing the academic integrity and missions of the member institutions. Progressive in its approach to its more than 3,400 student-athletes, America East recognizes champions in each of its 20 sports. America East also conducts the nation’s most comprehensive academic recognition program for student-athletes.
With a geographic footprint covering the Mid-Atlantic to Northeast regions of the United States, America East strives to develop champions in academics, athletics and leadership at its nine member institutions: University at Albany, Binghamton University, Boston University, University of Hartford, University of Maine, UMBC, University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University and University of Vermont.