Univeristy of Albany To Host 2009 Men's Basketball Championship

Courtesy: America East Communications

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — University at Albany will play host to the 2009 America East Men’s Basketball Championship at the 4,538-seat SEFCU Arena on campus in Albany, N.Y. The decision was reached in a vote by the conference’s athletics directors.

The nine-team tournament in 2009 begins with a first-round game on Friday, March 6. Quarterfinal and semifinal games follow on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8, respectively. The championship game will be played Saturday, March 14 at the home court of the higher remaining seed and will be televised by ESPN2.

“We are very proud that our colleagues have chosen the University at Albany to host this championship,” said Lee McElroy, Albany Vice President & Director of Athletics. “The America East basketball championship has been extremely successful and we hope to continue the tradition. We look forward to the challenge of working with the conference membership in presenting a prestigious college basketball event to the university community and Capital Region.”

“We are very excited about going to Albany for the 2009 Men’s Basketball Championship,” said America East Commissioner Patrick Nero. “The experience and dedication of Albany’s staff, combined with the passion for basketball in the Capital Region, will make for a promising championship. All of our teams return young, talented players from last year and this can only add excitement to the 2009 tournament.”

SEFCU Arena opened in the spring of 1992 as an $11 million state-of-the-art facility. The playing surface on the arena’s three basketball courts and the surrounding .11 mile track were completely renovated in December of 2004. SEFCU Arena, formerly the Recreation & Convocation Center, played host to the 2006 America Men’s Basketball Championship title game.

The America East Championship has utilized the present format of a single site for the first rounds, with the championship game played at the higher remaining seed since 1996. Binghamton University’s Event Center was the site of the championship in 2006 and 2008. Boston University hosted at Agganis Arena in 2007 and at Walter Brown Arena in 2003 and 2004, while the Terriers were a co-host in 2002 at Matthews Arena. The championship was played at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Del. from 1996 to 2001.

America East will consist of nine teams for the 2008-09 season: 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 University of Vermont.

Game times and ticket information for the America East Men’s Basketball Championship will be announced at a later date.

For more information on the 2009 America East Men’s Basketball Championship, please visit AmericaEast.com.