2019 Cross Country Program

The MAAC Story With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 39th year of competition during the 2019-20 academic year. The MAAC was founded in 1980 by six charter members: the U.S. Military Academy, Fairfield University, Fordham University, Iona College, Manhattan College, and Saint Peter’s College. Competition followed one year later in the fall of 1981 with members competing in the sports of Men’s Cross Country and Men’s Soccer. On January 2, 1982, Army traveled to Iona for the first MAAC Men’s Basketball game and the MAAC story had begun.

Monmouth University and Rider University will co-host the championships at the world-famous venue. Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall and the Atlantic City Convention Center are owned and funded by the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA). The CRDA, working with MEET AC & the Atlantic City Sports Commission, is sponsoring the championships at the venue. Constructed in 1929 as the country’s original convention center, Boardwalk Hall has dazzled guests and residents of Atlantic City for 90 years. In 2001, a $90-million restoration project was completed to transform the original convention hall into its current state as a modern special events arena capable of hosting concerts, esports, sporting events and family shows.

MAAC basketball is all about the connection fans feel to the member schools, the student-athletes and coaches, and to the game of basketball. The current MAAC Strategic Plan sought to identify a neutral site for championships in a destination city which lead to the selection of Atlantic City. The conference is taking a sports festival approach to the AC tournament, designed to engage multiple MAAC constituencies in a big tent approach to grow awareness and affinity within the MAAC and to attract fans to grow attendance by servicing various targeted audiences including students, bands and spirit squads, families, gamers, alumni, gamblers and college basketball fans. By having an excellent working relationship with various facilities, the MAAC has been able to attract several NCAA Championships. The MAAC is slated to host three NCAA Championships from 2020-22. Along with Siena, the MAAC

Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College. The MAAC supports 24 sports and championships during the 2019-20 academic year; in addition, the MAAC champion earns automatic qualification to the NCAA Championship in 15 sports. In addition, associate members include the University of Detroit Mercy and St. Bonaventure University in Men’s Lacrosse. La Salle University, Long Island University, St. Francis Brooklyn College, Villanova University, Virginia Military Institute, and Wagner College in Water Polo. Drake University, Jacksonville University, Robert Morris University, Sacred Heart University, and Stetson University compete in Women’s Rowing. La Salle University, the University at Albany, University of Dayton, and the University of Hartford are members in Women’s Golf, while Bryant University is a member in Men’s Swimming & Diving.

will host the 2021 Women’s Basketball East Regional as well as the 2020 Men’s Basketball First & Second Rounds at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. Alongside Canisius and Niagara, the MAAC will host the 2022 Men’s Basketball First & Second Rounds at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY. In March 2018 and 2019 the MAAC hosted the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Albany Regional with Siena College at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. The Albany Regional was the highest attended site in 2018 out of the four regions with over 20,000 fans in attendance over the two days of competition. During the 2016-17 academic year, the MAAC hosted the NCAA Division I Cross Country Northeast Regional at Van Cortlandt Park with Iona and Manhattan, the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball First & Second Rounds at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY with Canisius and Niagara, which marked the fifth time that all three parties partnered for this same event (2004, 2007, 2010, and 2014), and the 2017 NCAA Division I, II, & III Rowing Championships with the Ivy League at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, NJ. The MAAC, Canisius, and Niagara successfully hosted the 2019 NCAA Frozen Four and the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Second and Third Rounds at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, NY. The MAAC and Fairfield hosted the 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Regional at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, CT. The MAAC and Rider co-hosted the 2012 NCAA Rowing Championships at Lake Mercer in West Windsor, NJ and also co-hosted the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. The MAAC and Rider co-hosted the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Regional at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ, after recording the third highest attendance figure for the women’s championship with the First & Second Rounds in 2006.

On June 1, 2018, the MAAC announced that the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ was selected to host the 2020-22 MAAC Men’s & Women’s Basketball Championships. The MAAC Council of Presidents unanimously accepted the facility’s bid to host at their May 30th meeting in New York City. Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall will host the MAAC Basketball Championships for the first time in history and the championships will return to the state of New Jersey for the first time since 2003, when they were played at The Sovereign Bank Arena (now CURE Insurance Arena) in Trenton. A total of nine MAAC Men’s Basketball Championships and five Women’s Basketball Championships have been held in New Jersey, including the inaugural event in 1982 at what was the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford.

7 Weekly Awards | Championship History | Championship Central | #MAACXC | @MAACSports

6 @MAACSports | #MAACXC | Championship Central | Championship History | Weekly Awards