The America East Conference has embarked on several initiatives to enhance the overall experience at the 2012 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship presented by Newman’s Own, both for fans attending the event and those at home.
Among the more popular attractions over the past five years, FanFest returns to the championship with a 2,000 square-foot tent hosting an Aramark food court, a merchandise stand, interactive games, fan-friendly displays from Newman’s Own and Newman’s Own Foundation, and a presentation for the 40th Anniversary of Title IX. In addition, fans will have a chance to download the free app from PlayUp, the Official Fan Engagement Partner of America East. PlayUp is the only mobile social network dedicated to live sports, connecting fans all over the world and providing access to scores with one click.
Fans in the food court area can watch each of the games on flat screen televisions, as well as the post-game press conferences. These are just two of the many video offerings from the conference, which are also available to fans who are unable to attend the games.
Through its partnership with Pack Network, America East will produce the first-round and quarterfinal games, which will be available for free at America East All-Access at AmericaEast.com. In addition, the games will be available through Mobile Stream for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users. Brian Maurer will provide play-by-play for the broadcasts. He will be joined by Ashley Underwood on the women’s games and Keith Friel on the men’s games. Both Underwood and Friel played basketball professionally after standout careers at Maine and Virginia, respectively.
The semifinal games will air live on ESPN3 with veteran play-by-play announcer Eric Frede joined by Leah Secondo on the women’s games and Frank Sullivan for the men’s games.
Pack Network will provide live streams of the coaches’ and players’ press conferences to AmericaEast.com, following each game. America East, through a partnership with Neulion, will offer fans archived, condensed games following the conclusion of each. Finally, the conference will add daily video features, including ‘sights and sounds’ of the championship throughout the weekend.
Visit Championship Central at AmericaEast.com after every game for highlight packages, photos, recaps and much more. Fans can keep up to date by following America East on twitter (@AmericaEast) for in-game updates. Tweeters are also encouraged to use the hashtag #AEHoops to join the discussion. Fans can also “like” us on Facebook (Facebook.com/AmericaEast) to interact with fellow fans and get a look behind the scenes at Fan Fest.
The championship begins with first round games on Thursday (6 and 8:15 pm). Four women’s quarterfinal games will be held Friday beginning at 12 noon. The men’s quarterfinals take place Saturday beginning at 12 noon. Women’s semifinals (11am and 2:15 pm) and men’s semifinals (5 and 7:15 pm) are scheduled for Sunday. All games will be played at the Chase Family Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion on the University of Hartford. To buy tickets click here or call 860-7678-HAWK.