CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- The America East Conference office released its 2009-10 championship schedule Wednesday, August 12, highlighted by the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship held at University of Hartford’s Chase Family Arena on March 4-7. The league will host championship events in 20 sports with 12 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 first time in the league’s history. The title games will both be held the following weekend, with the men’s championship game on Saturday, March 13 and the women’s final either Saturday or Sunday. Both will be held at the site of the highest remaining seeds.

The first champions of the new academic year will be crowned in cross country on October 31. The meet will be held in Burlington, Vermont and hosted by the University of Vermont.

The six-team women’s soccer championship kicks off with quarterfinals on Thursday, October 29, semifinals on Sunday, November 1 and the title game the following weekend. All rounds will be held at the highest seeds.

Men’s soccer will compete with the same format, at the highest seeds in each round, beginning with the quarterfinals on November 7 and crowning a championship on either Saturday, November 14 or Sunday, November 15.

Field hockey semifinals and finals will be held at the highest seed’s artificial turf field on November 6-8, while the volleyball tournament will be held at the top seed’s gym on November 20-22. Both championships include the top four teams from the regular season.

The indoor track & field championship begins the winter championship schedule on February 19-20. Boston University will host the event at the Boston U. Track & Tennis Center, as well as the swimming and diving championship a week later, February 25-28, at the Aquatic Center.

The conference office will host both the men’s and women’s tennis and outdoor track & field championships the weekend of April 30-May 2, crowning all four team champions on Sunday.

The men’s lacrosse semifinals and finals will be played at the highest seeds in each round. The two semifinal games will take place Wednesday, May 5 and the title game will be Saturday, May 8. The women’s lacrosse crown will be handed out on Saturday, May 8 as well, at the field of the highest seed in the four-team tournament. The semifinals will be played on Thursday, May 6.

The softball and baseball championships, which both utilize a four-team, double-elimination format, will be held on successive weekends May 13-15 and May 26-28. The top seed during the regular season will host both tournaments.

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 third 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 3,200 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.