America East Tournament Week Nears

Basketball players, coaches, and fans from throughout the Northeast will once again gather at the University of Hartford in early March, as the University hosts the 2011 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship presented by Newman’s Own. 

The championship will take place from Thursday, March 3, to Sunday, March 6, at Chase Arena in the Reich Family Pavilion.

All-session ticket packages are currently on sale through the University of Hartford Athletics Box Office. All-session packages are $75 and include all 14 games. To purchase all-session ticket packages, visit the Malcolm and Brenda Berman Athletics Box Office in the Sports Center; call the box office at 860.768.HAWK (4295); or order tickets online. 

Tickets for individual sessions will go on sale on Monday, Feb. 28. 

University of Hartford students with valid ID will once again be able to attend all games in which the UofH plays free of charge, courtesy of President Walter Harrison and Vice President for Student Affairs Lee Peters.

The University of Hartford hosted last year’s championship, which marked the first time in America East history that the men’s and women’s tournaments were combined at the same venue. Based on the success of the 2010 championship, the conference athletic directors voted to bring the combined tournament back to Hartford in 2011. 

Using the format adopted for the 2010 championship, the University of Hartford will once again host the men's and women's first round, quarterfinal and semifinal games. The men’s and women’s title games will take place on Saturday, March 12, on the campuses of the highest remaining seeds. 

The America East Conference is made up of nine schools: the University at Albany; Binghamton University; Boston University; University of Hartford; University of Maine; University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC); University of New Hampshire; Stony Brook University; and the University of Vermont. 

The 2010 America East Championship presented by Newman’s Own drew more than 17,000 fans to Chase Arena. Prior to the combined format, Hartford had hosted the America East Women’s Basketball Championship seven times in the previous eight years. Hartford has attracted more than 66,000 fans to championship games at Chase Arena since 2002.