2022 MAAC Cross Country Championship Program

two four-team brackets, with campus round games in the United States leading into two tournament brackets in Belfast aptly named ‘Samson’ and ‘Goliath’ after the iconic Harland and Wolfe cranes in the Titanic quarter shipyard of Belfast. Marist represented the MAAC in the 2018 Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic. In June of 1995, the MAAC developed new opportunities for student-athletes as the conference announced the formation of the MAAC Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse leagues. The men’s league began competition in the spring of 1996, while the women’s league commenced in the spring of 1997. Since their inception as associate sports leagues, both Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse have been upgraded to full MAAC sports. The men’s league currently consists of six MAAC schools (Canisius, Manhattan, Marist, Mount St. Mary’s, Quinnipiac, and Siena along with four associate

members LIU, Sacred Heart, VMI, and Wagner College). The women’s league features competition among nine MAAC institutions (Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Manhattan, Marist, Mount St. Mary’s, Niagara, Quinnipiac, and Siena). The 2017 Men’s Lacrosse Championship game aired on ESPNU and Sirius XM for the first time in history. In the spring of 2014, the MAAC expanded the championship field to six teams in Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Volleyball, Women’s Lacrosse, Softball, and Baseball. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MAAC canceled all spring sport competitions, practices, and other athletic related activities for the remainder of the 2020 Spring semester. Later the decision was made to move the fall 2020 sports into the winter of 2021 providing scaled back schedules and expanded championship formats as the pandemic continued to restrict athletic competition. This was the first time a season of sports competition was ever canceled in the MAAC. The MAAC Council of Presidents approved bylaws to launch an Esports League and Championships in 2020. The presidents approved Esports as an official MAAC co-ed club sport. The decision came after two years of evaluation and co-sponsorship of events with the ECAC, including the highly successful HV Gamer Con 2019 in Albany, NY. The 2020 MAAC Esports Championships were set to be held in the Adrian Phillips Theater at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 MAAC Esports Championships were held virtually. The 2020 Championships featured four games: League of Legends, Rocket League, Overwatch, and Super Smash Ultimate. In 2022, the MAAC held its first in-person Esports Championships at the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City. The MAAC prides itself on the accomplishments of its student-athletes in the classroom, as well as on the field. Mary Beth Riley, a 1991 graduate of Canisius, was the first recipient of the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. In the fall of 1998, Erin Whalen, a member of the Iona Women’s Rowing team, was awarded one of the nation’s 32 Rhodes Scholarships for academic achievement and civic leadership. Despite the challenges of a global pandemic in recent years, MAAC student-athletes continue to excel in the classroom at high rates. Following a one-year hiatus, the NCAA announced the latest four-year Academic Progress Rates (APR) and 41 MAAC teams achieved perfect APR scores (1,000) – 30 women’s and 11 men’s, while 10 league sports saw an increase in their average rate since the last annual report was announced in May 2020. Siena College led all MAAC institutions with Academics and Athletics

8 @MAACSports | #MAACXC | Championship Central | Championship History

9 Championship History | Championship Central | #MAACXC | @MAACSports