2022 MAAC Indoor Track & Field Championship Program

In March of 2017, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the field of teams for the inaugural Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic, a college basketball tournament held in conjunction with the MAAC, Sport Changes Life, Rory McIlroy’s Foundation, the Rory Foundation, and The SSE Arena, Belfast. The two-day tournament was held December 1-2, 2017 and featured Holy Cross, Manhattan, La Salle, and Towson. After a successful inaugural event, the Sport Changes Life Foundation announced the second annual Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic to be held November 29-December 1. The 2018 event featured an expanded field to eight schools. The schools competed in 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, Monmouth, Quinnipiac, and Siena along with two associate members Detroit Mercy and St. Bonaventure). The women’s league features competition among nine MAAC institutions (Canisius, Fairfield, Iona, Manhattan, Marist, Monmouth, 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 Championship was held virtually. The 2020 Championships featured four games: League of Legends, Rocket League, Overwatch, and Super Smash Ultimate. The 2022 MAAC Esports Championship will take place at the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, March 10-12. Academics and Athletics 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.

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